本片根据美国侦探小说家劳伦斯的一本小说《洛杉矶的生与死》改编而成。剧情描述洛城警探威廉•彼得森誓言不惜一切要替惨死的拍档报仇，后来找出杀人凶手是印制伪钞的油画家威廉•达佛，乃跟他展开一场暴力感十足的猫捉老鼠大追逐。

In a wealthy and isolated desert community, a sound expert is targeted as the prime suspect of a series of brutal murders of local suburban housewives who were attacked and mutilated in their homes. As he desperately tries to prove his innocence, his wife starts to uncover startling truths...

Late one night on a rural road in the western US, a policeman sets up a roadblock and begins stopping all traffic. When several cars and a big truck have stopped, he tells everyone why: a nuclear attack on the US appears to be underway, and since they have the truck there, their best chance at survival is to use it as a bomb shelter. Time is short and tensions in the small group quickly rise.

　　诸多黑势力开始崛起的美国城市华盛顿。“善恶叠加、黑白混杂”。警中有匪，匪中有警，使的正义没人敢伸张，罪恶无人严惩这样的社会背景自然也成就了不少的黑道强人，年轻的警察贝尔抱着为亲人报仇的心理加入警队……屡破大案反招来上司的诬陷与黑社会的追杀……