Matt Lee Whitlock (Denzel Washington) is the police chief of a small Florida town, going through a divorce with his detective wife, Alex (Eva Mendes). He begins a passionate affair with Ann (Sanaa Lathan), only to find out that she's stricken with terminal cancer. Matt steals a large sum of money confiscated from a drug bust in order to pay for Ann's treatment -- but when she apparently dies in a suspicious fire, the money disappears, and all the clues point to Matt as the culprit.