Summaries

Synopsis

Attorney Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd) and her woodworker husband Tom (Jim Caviezel) had been leading an idyllic life in Marin County, California, with no inkling that their lives were about to be shattered. Claire is up for partner at her law firm, and she is trying to make a baby with Tom. One day, their house is burgled by 2 punks, who escape when Tom confronts them.

During a Christmas shopping excursion in San Francisco's Union Square, Tom is suddenly apprehended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is charged with the 1990 murders of nine unarmed civilians in a village in El Salvador. Special Agent Mullins (Tom Bower) is leading the investigation. If convicted, he will get the death penalty. Major Lucas Waldron (Michael Gaston) is prosecuting the case.Claire is shocked to discover that Tom's real name is Ronald Chapman and that he had been in a covert military operation, serving in the United States Marine Corps, and has been on the run for the past 12 years. Ron's DNA and fingerprints were confirmed from the samples picked up during the alleged burglary, which was conducted by Marin Police Department.

Claire found it difficult to accept this revelation, as it tore away the story that she had built about them having a simple, happy life. Ron admits that he is not Tom but is in tears that he did not do what he is being accused of.However, Claire has found strength to face the facts, and is determined to help Tom prove his innocence, regardless of what she may find out about him. She is determined to uncover the truth and save her husband from a life imprisonment.

Tom says that 3 American students were killed in a cafe in the town of Monte Azul in El Salvador in 1999. A member of the rebel group had thrown a satchel bomb into the cafe. Tom's unit was called in to locate the rebel unit, led by a terrorist named Danilo Chacon.Tom says that his unit was commanded by Bill Marks back then, who sent them into a village of Las Colinas. Danilo was supposed to be hiding there, and the villagers were rounded up. Somebody lost their control on the trigger and 9 villagers were killed. Tom says that James Hernandez pulled the trigger. Hernandez said that he was teaching the villagers a lesson and told Tom to keep his mouth shut.Tom admits that he was at the scene of the mass murders, but he vehemently insists that he had absolutely no role in the gruesome killings.His protests allude to the fact that he has been implicated in the crime to act as a scapegoat and protect Major James Hernandez (Juan Carlos Hernandez), the real perpetrator who is now serving as the adjutant of Brigadier General Bill Marks (Bruce Davison). Marks is now the Special Representative to the Joint Congressional Committee on Military Appropriations.

First Lieutenant Terence Embry (Adam Scott) is assigned to defend Tom, but his youth and lack of experience prompt Claire to decide to assist professionally in defending her husband. Claire has to quit her firm, so as to not drag their name into the investigations.When she realizes she needs help from someone familiar with the workings of a military court, she hires Charlie Grimes (Morgan Freeman), an embittered former military attorney who has a grudge against the military brass, to assist her. Charlie was in the JAG Corps, but he had an affair with the wife of a superior officer, and he was pushed out.Colonel Farrell (Jude Ciccolella) is the presiding judge at the Military Court.

Claire's sister Jackie is an irresponsible junkie, who only calls Claire when she needs the money. Jackie pretends to join Claire to help her, but in reality, she came as she was evicted from her rental house and had no place to stay.

7 witnesses from Tom's unit all testified that Tom did the murders. 5 of them are dead, 2 in combat.Three of the five key witnesses, who previously testified Tom was guilty, have died under seemingly mysterious circumstances, raising Claire and Charlie's suspicions. One was murdered and 2 died in accidents.

Claire and Charlie are offered a deal of 5 years imprisonment by Waldron. Tom is determined to forthrightly prove his innocence and is desperately pleading for justice and the truth to come to light, hoping that the local authorities would unearth the real villain and punish them accordingly. Such a happening, he believes, would give him the opportunity to make an authoritative and genuine case for his innocence and exonerate him of all doubts and suspicions that may be harboring in the minds of the public. Only with such a vindication can he reclaim the dignity he deserves and continue to live his life with pride. Tom takes a Polygraph test to convince Claire that he is telling the truth, and he passes.Claire turns the deal down and later she and Jackie are attacked at their house. They are only saved when Embry shows up unexpectedly to meet Jackie.

As the trial proceeds, they uncover a massive cover-up perpetrated by one of the military's highest-ranking officials. Charlie finds that one of the witnesses was killed right in front of his wife, and she had accused the military of being involved. The wife disappeared right after the shooting.A mysterious man approaches Claire at the supermarket and says that it is his job to teach Special Operations personnel on how to beat a Polygraph test.Charlie tracks down one of the witnesses still alive Troy Abbott (Michael Shannon), who is out on parole. Troy says that he was ordered by Hernandez to testify that he saw Ron/Tom shooting the villagers. Charlie secretly record this conversation.

Also creating problems are the sudden appearance of a resident (Emilio Rivera) of the village where the mass murder took place, who insists Tom was responsible; Embry's romantic involvement with Claire's irresponsible sister Jackie (Amanda Peet); Embry's drinking in a bar with the prosecutor, which leads Claire to assume that he leaked details about secrets she has uncovered to the prosecution; and Charlie's falling off the wagon after more than a year of sobriety.

Waldron fails to produce Troy Abbott in court, claiming he has disappeared. Claire plays the recorded tape for the Judge to prove that Abbott had lied in his original testimony at the time of the CID investigation into the massacre. Judge refuses to admit the tape as it might have been coerced.Charlie discovers that Claire's house was bugged and hence Embry was not passing information to Waldron.

A Salvadorian witness comes forward to Claire and identifies an injured Hernandez as the culprit responsible for a bombing incident prior to the massacre. He says that Hernandez was the one who threw the bomb into the cafe at Monte Azul to kill Danilo Chacon, and 3 American students killed were collateral damage. It was at Monte Azul that Hernandez damaged his eye.Claire and Charlie are again attacked when her car is spewed with oil on a highway at night. As it spins out of control, Claire had an accident. At the hospital she learns that she was pregnant, and she lost the baby.

Claire recovers classified medical files from the FBI as evidence of the cover-up. Embry had told Claire that Hernandez would have gotten medical treatment for his injury and got the tests done for insurance purposes, so the Government could not cheat him out of his compensation. Claire approaches Mullins for help.Claire approaches General Marks at a charity event to present proof of a military cover-up. Claire threatens to release the document publicly unless he makes the case go away. The next day, the U.S. Defense Department has the case thrown out of court due to "national security reasons".

Just as Claire is about to celebrate her victory in court, Charlie discovers the truth: Tom had murdered one of the witnesses in front of his family. The widow who witnessed the act described Tom's having tossed his gun from one hand to the other (a habit Tom displayed with keys and other objects throughout the film) and his shooting his gun first using one hand, then the other (revealing his ambidexterity).

The match between these descriptions also indicated that Tom committed the massacre and also murdered two of the other key witnesses years prior to his arrest. After Tom overhears Claire talking to Charlie on the phone, a short scuffle between Claire and Tom ensues, during which Claire fears for her life. The Salvadorian witness shoots Tom through the window.Charlie and Claire partner together in a new law firm.