Emory Lane is called in to investigate when gagged 29-year-old hostage, Daphne Mayton, is left in the woods and restrained to a tree late at night; her perpetrator 47-year-old Douglas Macey is killed in a car accident afterwards. At the crash site, the accident leaves traces, including a photo of a gagged Daphne in front of a tree, a Polaroid camera, blood stains, a cellphone and keys, which are found inside the car. Captain Ted Stillman of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement pairs Emory with rookie detective Zeth Arnold to work on the case. They all realize it will be a grueling search for the victim due to the acres of land she was left within. Simultaneously, Emory's wife Sirena Lane suffers from a severe heart condition which often interrupts his duty. After the autopsy is conducted, Zeth investigates the neighborhood that links to Douglas' car registration address, finding out Douglas was a troubled boy growing up. Emory also gathers more info about Daphne from a missing person's report. Detectives Emory and Zeth discovers the cellphone obtained from the car at the crash site only made one transmission to another phone, and it tracks back to three retailers in Alabama. After getting a warrant, they search out Douglas' house where they find drawings in a closet, and they head to his workplace to uncover more info. Soon, the police department develop a profile, presuming Douglas was a sex offender having issues with his own sexuality; they also conclude he was isolated in his adolescent years and sought approval from an accomplice who shares similar interests. Probing Daphne's house, it becomes known she is pregnant. Emory begins doubting his faith over his dying wife and the missing victim. Meanwhile, Zeth finds help to hack into a black market eBay-like site using a flash drive found at Douglas' workplace which contained access codes and photos. There, Douglas had cryptically interacted with his new found accomplice, Simon, sharing photos and videos of victims and exchanging money for them. The detectives track Douglas' bank records, and this leads to discovering Douglas had lived in Alabama, neighboring Daphne. They also pinpoint the Alabama connection to Simon, known as James Rawlings. Having the address, the police force enter Simon's house, but he is not there. They find evidence that detail him as a predator, including a bloody torture room in the basement. This makes the force believe they were too late to save the girl. However, Zeth checks Simon's property tax reports which link to Sumter County, Florida, where he had killed a deer, making the force suspect victims may have been taken somewhere there. They search the woods there at night and find dead bodies restrained to trees. Around this time, Simon, who tracked Daphne using a GPS locator, attempts to take her from the woods, but his plans are stood up by an officer who he shoots down, alerting the rest of the force. He drops Daphne and tries to escape. Emory and Zeth find Daphne and continue to pursue Simon, who shoots Zeth in the chest, piercing his armor. Eventually, Emory subdues Simon and he is taken into custody, while Zeth is hospitalized. Emory's wife Sirena soon succumbs to end stages of a heart failure and dies. At the end of the film, Emory visits Daphne, who gave birth, and a surviving Zeth in the hospital. On his way out, Emory stops by the nursery room giving a faint smile of hope before he leaves.
