Washington is Lincoln Rhyme, a successful police officer and author of crime novels. After a freak accident on the job, Rhyme is left paralyzed from the neck down (except for his index finger). Jolie is Amelia Donaghy, a troubled cop who finds herself caught up in the investigation of a brutal serial killer. With the help of the bed-ridden Rhyme, she enters a dangerous world that threatens to add her to the killer's list.