Eric Poole, who at 18, is released from jail having served his sentence for the murder of a young girl. Russell Crowe plays the hard-bitten detective who put him away and who is sure that Poole is a potential serial killer who will reoffend. He makes it his mission to keep Poole under surveillance as he sets off on a seemingly innocent road trip up-state. But all is not as it seems as Poole soon finds himself on the run with a young girl who has become obsessed with him and may or may not have been witness to the first murder.