American thriller in which hardened homicide detective Ray Archer (Al Pacino) forms an alliance with criminal profiler Will Ruiney (Karl Urban) to investigate a string of suspicious murders. As the killings become increasingly gruesome and frequent, Ray and Will make some disturbing discoveries, including one of their badge numbers engraved into a desk at the scene of a crime. When the barbaric serial killer begins re-enacting a game of hangman by hanging his victims and leaving clues for the authorities, the pair must work fast if they are to put a stop to the reign of terror and catch the culprit.