With the dream of a better life always just out of reach, Russell (Christian Bale) and his younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) find their futures taking a grim turn when Russell ends up in jail. Meanwhile, on the outside, Rodney falls in with a notorious group of criminals who threaten to destroy any hope for a better tomorrow. Later, when Russell is released from prison the temptation to cut his ties with the past clashes with his sense of duty to his brother, who is headed down the road to ruin..