Nicolas Cage is Lt. Terence McDonagh, a cop who injures his back and becomes addicted to painkillers. As his drug use and gambling spiral out of control, he doggedly pursues a drug dealer suspected of murdering a family. Accompanying him on his wild adventures of corrupt behavior and drug binging is his prostitute girlfriend (played by Eva Mendes). Leaving destruction in his wake wherever he goes, McDonagh eventually finds himself trapped in a maze of trouble with thugs and Internal Affairs on his trail.