New Iberia, Louisiana. Detective Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) is on the hunt for a serial killer who preys on young women. Driving home from another gruesome crime scene, Dave meets glamorous Hollywood star Elrod Sykes (Peter Sarsgaard). Sykes is in town shooting his new movie, with backing from local crime kingpin Baby Feet Balboni (John Goodman). He tells Dave he saw a body lying in a swamp - the decomposed corpse of a black man in chains. The discovery brings memories hurtling out of Dave's past. He senses the two cases are linked. But as Dave gets closer to the murderer, the murderer gets closer to Dave and his family...