The film follows Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), a New Orleans police detective who injures his back while rescuing a prisoner during Hurricane Katrina. He earns a promotion to lieutenant but becomes addicted to prescription painkillers, later spiraling into heavier drug use.
As McDonagh investigates the brutal murder of a Senegalese immigrant family tied to drug trafficking, his personal life unravels—he struggles with debt, a gambling habit, and protecting his girlfriend Frankie (a prostitute with her own drug problems).
While navigating corruption, gang violence, and his own moral decay, McDonagh uses questionable methods to close the case, often blurring the line between law enforcement and criminal behavior.
In the end, despite his reckless behavior, he survives the case and gets clean—only for the cycle of temptation and danger to potentially start again, leaving the audience questioning whether redemption will last.
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