1944年10月，波兰奥斯威辛集中营，在焚化炉工作的波兰犹太人和匈牙利犹太人正密谋暴乱，捣毁焚尸炉，由绰号“海什”的波兰人（史蒂夫·布西密 Steve Buscemi 饰）负责联络。匈牙利犹太医生米卡洛斯（阿兰·柯德勒 Allan Corduner 饰）因在双胞胎繁殖学领域的突出成就被狱警慕斯菲尔德（哈威·凯特尔 Harvey Keitel 饰）特别优待，他不愿眼看匈牙利人霍夫曼（大卫·阿奎特 David Arquette 饰）用枕头捂死一位自杀失败的狱友，与其产生矛盾。附近女子监狱向焚化炉偷偷运送火药的行迹暴露，蒂娜（米拉·索维诺 Mira Sorvino 饰）和洛萨（娜塔莎·雷昂 Natasha Lyonn 饰）被折磨致死。就在霍夫曼心急如焚等待暴乱时机到来的时候，他在毒气室的尸堆里发现了一名奄奄一息的少女。要不要救人？会不会打乱暴乱计划？霍夫曼和狱友无所适从……

这是一个关于 1957 年在纽约州北部阿帕拉钦 (Apalachin) 举行的著名黑手党头目会议的故事。

Sometime in the near future, paraplegic prison inmate Matt Mills meets "The Board" of Satoshi-Telefair Industries, who thank him for joining the Program. Under pressure and with a promise to make him walk again, Mills agrees to volunteer. He is injected with a synthetic nanomaterial and suffocated, only to wake up with restored use of his legs, yet alone in a steel cell in the first spoke of an experimental apparatus - The Wheel. A series of assailants inflict a multitude of damage to Mills' body and torment his mind, yet the synthetic nanomaterial not only restores his damaged organs, it re-engineers his strength. The experiment might be designed to kill, but Mills is determined to survive - and get back to his daughter before The Board finds her first.