Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) just recently returned from Iraq, leaving behind his sordid experiences but never being able to forget them. He mysteriously disappears, leaving his parents confused and worried. His father, war veteran Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), and mother, Joan (Susan Sarandon) are worried about what he’s gotten himself into. Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) becomes involved with the case, and finds herself becoming personally attached to the family. When Mike’s body is found, dismembered and destroyed, everyone begins to learn the truth about what he and his friends really did in Iraq. Maybe the horror of their own acts was just too much for Mike and his friends to handle.