在6年的牢狱之灾中,鲁迪(本·阿弗莱克 Ben Affleck 饰)结识了好友尼克(詹姆斯·弗莱恩 James Frain 饰),通过尼克的书信,鲁迪得知了一位名叫阿什莉(查理兹·塞隆 Charlize Theron 饰)的女子,在潜移默化之间,鲁迪竟然也对阿什莉产生了一种特殊的感情。一次监狱里的骚乱中,尼克身亡,而出狱后的鲁迪只有一个愿望,那就是找到阿什莉。 正如鲁迪所预想的那样,阿什莉是一个绝色美人,为了不让事态过去突兀,鲁迪向阿什莉谎称自己就是尼克。鲁迪和阿什莉的关系进展迅速,可与此同时,鲁迪亦发现自己似乎被卷入了一场阴谋之中。阿什莉的兄弟加布里埃尔(加里·西尼斯 Gary Sinise 饰)预谋抢劫一家赌场,在威逼利诱之间,鲁迪也入伙了。After being imprisoned for six years on a grand theft auto charge, Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) is days away from release as is his cellmate Nick (James Frain) who is is serving a two year sentence on a separate charge. Nick has a number of pictures from a romantic correspondence with a woman named Ashley he has never met but is waiting for his release. Rudy is looking forward to returning to his family and having a fresh cup of hot chocolate. Nick is killed defending Rudy during a prison riot. When Rudy Is released the next day from prison he recognizes Ashley waiting outside the prison for Nick and Rudy takes his place and pretends to be Nick. Nick had spoken of his previous employment in security with an Indian casino and Rudy finds himself involved with Ashley's criminal gun runner brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise). Rudy is violently coerced to cooperate with a Christmas Eve casino robbery scheme that Gabriel and his gang have been planning with Nick's casino knowledge as the key. Things don't go as planned with a number of plot twists and double crosses.