When brilliant forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme (Washington, pictured) is paralysed in an accident in a tunnel, he is left a quadriplegic, confined to his bed and in a suicidal state. But his help is needed when a sadistic serial killer goes on the loose in Manhattan. Young female rookie detective Amelia Dongahy (Jolie, pictured) becomes his "eyes" on the streets in a race against time to catch the guilty man.