Decorated homicide detective Ray Archer (Al Pacino) partners with criminal profiler Will Ruiney (Karl Urban) to catch one of the city's notoriously vicious serial killers, who is playing a twisted version of murder using the child's gameHANGMAN, while crime journalist Christi Davies (Brittany Snow) reports on the crime spree, shadowing the detectives. The trio races against the clock to prevent the murders, as every 24 hours, a body is hung revealing a new letter of the game carved into the backs or chests of the victims.