It's carnival time in Puerto Rico, but three young women have been found dead and the killer is still on the loose. Harry Hearst (Gene Hackman) is a rich and successful lawyer who discovers one of the bodies and is consequently asked by police chief Victor Benezet (Morgan Freeman) to help with his enquiries. However, Hearst soon finds himself being given the third degree by Detective Owen (Thomas Jane), who grills him over his private life and - in particular - his relationship with his young and very beautiful wife Chantal (Monica Bellucci), who is almost thirty years his junior. Soon a number of startling discoveries conspire to make Hearst the prime suspect in the murder case.