威尔·史密斯饰演真实历史人物：饱受折磨后逃出美国南方奴隶主奴役的黑人彼得、美国奴隶制的著名“证据”照片的主人公。 　　影片风格被描述为比起《为奴十二年》，更像梅尔·吉布森执导的《启示录》，Willam N. Collage写剧本，故事来自彼得的真实经历：他从奴隶主手中逃出，忍受着冷血的猎人的追杀和路易斯安那州危险的沼泽，一路向北。而当逃到北方军中，接受检查时，彼得露出了自己被种植园中的监工鞭笞得累累伤痕的后背。这一幕被拍成了著名的照片“被鞭打的脊背”(the scourged back)，刊登在1863年5月的《Independent》，以及当年7月4日的《Harper’s Weekly》。该照片成为美国奴隶制残忍暴行的证据之一，发布后推动了废奴运动和促使许多自由的黑人加入联邦军，并流传到世界各地，传言称这张照片使得法国等国家拒绝从美国南方购买棉花。

　　Man到不行的特警亚隆相信纪律，相信个人得为团体牺牲；他与队友们兄弟情深，却面临出状况时得找个替死鬼扛责任的尴尬局面。富家女希拉加入左派团体、朗读口号，相信为了理想，必须压抑小情小爱。当看似毫无关连的两人命运交会时，他们对各自的立场，是否仍如此肯定？

　　Theo Abrams is an ex-Cape Town fireman suffering from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unable to return to work due to the psychological trauma sustained during a failed rescue mission, an increasingly frustrated and volatile Theo's world is rocked when one morning, he wakes up next to his wife's murdered corpse with no recollection of what transpired and all evidence suggesting that he's killed her. When the police label him as the prime suspect, Theo goes on the run, and is soon being hunted by Deputy Chief of Police, Alan Shard, a notoriously ruthless soldier of the law, who is hell-bent on catching Theo as one last act of service before he officially retires. However, when an unknown third party is thrown into the mix, Theo discovers an alarming connection between the sinister forces hunting him in an attempt to silence him permanently for a reason he can't comprehend; and a recent investigation his wife was conducting into a global armament contractor. When connecting the dots becomes a matter of life and death, Theo becomes embroiled in a desperate fight for survival and must figure out who really murdered his wife before a terrifying conspiracy changes the course of a nation forever.

约翰是一个有着悲痛过去的人，为了向过去伤害过他的人复仇，约翰和他的同伴回到家乡，却莫名奇妙被抓进了一个神秘的屋子......这时约翰又要如何应对...

影片的背景主要是设在1970年，展现了恩南·哈什米扮演的底层人民，联合起来，推翻阿吉·戴维刚扮演的独裁者的经历。故事没有任何原型人物。