A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling) is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky (Jena Malone). As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle), a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie (Michelle Williams), must contend with their own problems.