Steelworker Russell Baze (Christian Bale) works a dead-end job and holds tight to his sense of family, duty and loyalty. Rodney Baze (Casey Affleck), Russell's brother, returns home after serving in Iraq and, with his debts piling up, becomes entangled with a vicious crime lord (Woody Harrelson). Soon afterward, Rodney disappears mysteriously. The police fail to solve the case, so Russell -- feeling he has little left to lose -- puts his life on the line to bring his brother home.