Trama

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.

Leading a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana, mild-mannered Tom Stall cherishes his simple, uneventful existence. However, their idyllic lifestyle is shattered when, one night, Tom saves his customers and friends in self-defence, foiling a vicious attempted robbery in his diner by two violent wanted criminals. Now, heralded as a local hero, Tom's life is changed overnight, attracting unwanted attention, and a national media feeding frenzy. Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to normalcy, only to find himself confronted by a mysterious man who arrives in town believing Tom is the man who wronged him in the past. More and more, as Tom and his family struggle to cope with their new reality and this case of mistaken identity, they have no other choice but to fight back and protect all that they hold dear. But, is there more to Tom than meets the eye? Does he have, indeed, a history of violence?—Nick Riganas

Tom Stall, a humble family man and owner of a popular neighborhood restaurant, lives a quiet but fulfilling existence in the Midwest. One night Tom foils a crime at his place of business and, to his chagrin, is plastered all over the news for his heroics. Following this, mysterious people follow the Stalls' every move, concerning Tom more than anyone else. As this situation is confronted, more lurks out over where all these occurrences have stemmed from compromising his marriage, family relationship and the main characters' former relations in the process.—balboa82

In Millowbrook, Indiana, the mild Tom Stall owns a family- owned diner and has a calm life with his beloved wife Edie, his teen-aged son Jack, and his little daughter Sarah. His life turns upside-down when her kills two cold-blooded killers in his dinerto protect his waitress, becoming a local hero and being shown in the front page of the local news and on TV. The next day, mobster Carl Fogarty comes to the town, calling him Joey Cusack and telling that he was a former hit man. When Carl and his men threaten his family, Tom defends them, and violence is released in a chain reaction.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tom Stall is a loving family man and well-respected citizen of a small Indiana town. But when two savage criminals show up at his diner, Tom is forced to take action and thwart the robbery attempt. Suddenly heralded as a hero who took the courage to stand up to crime, people look up to Tom as a man of high moral regard. But all that media attention has the likes of mobsters showing up at his doorstep, charging that Tom is someone else for whom they've been looking. Is it a case of mistaken identity, or does Tom have a history that no one knows about? Either way, someone's about to find out if there's a history of violence.—mystic80

Billy Orser (Greg Bryk) is a ruthless killer and thief mob who works with Leland Jones (Stephen McHattie). They are shown to kill the staff of a motel, and Billy even shoots a little girl who is a witness to their crime.

Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a local restaurant owner in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. He is leading a content life with wife Edie (Maria Bello), son Jack (Ashton Holmes) & girl Sarah (Heidi Hayes). By all indications, they are a normal and happy family. Tom is a respected member of the local community. Mick (Gerry Quigley) is Tom's chef at the restaurant. Jack is being bullied at school by punks Bobby (Kyle Schmid) and Buddy (Morgan Kelly), but he avoids confrontation by admitting defeat even before the fight starts. Jack believes that violence is pointless and cruel. Tom and Edie love each other dearly and use every moment they can find to enjoy their sex life.

One night Billy and Leland attempt to rob the restaurant. When one of the criminals is about to kill the waitress Charlotte (Deborah Drakeford), Tom deftly kills both robbers. Tom is stabbed in the foot by Leland, but he gets off 2 precise shots that kill Billy and Leland. Tom's actions make him an overnight celebrity and the news reporters are all over the story. Tom's picture is all over the national news. After a brief stay at the hospital, Tom is discharged and returns home to a hero's welcome. Tom is reluctantly forced to be in front of live TV cameras as they intercept him right outside his house.

Tom is soon visited by scarred gangster Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) who alleges that Tom is actually a gangster named Joey Cusack, who had dealings with him in the Irish Mob in Philadelphia many years ago. Tom vehemently denies these accusations and claims he has never been to Philadelphia, as well as never meeting him before, but Fogarty remains persistent in his claims and continues to stalk the Stall family. Sam, the local sheriff, tells Tom and Edie that Carl and his men Frank Mulligan (Bill McDonald) and Charlie Roarke (Aidan Devine) represent the organized crime syndicates from the east coast, and are suspected to be involved in several counts of murder charges. Tom insists that he is not part of any witness protection program. Sam says that while he found no official documents on Joey Cusack, he did find that Ritchie Cusack is the head of the crime syndicate that Carl and his men come from.

Under pressure from Fogarty and his newfound fame, Tom's relationships with his wife Edie, teenage son Jack, and young daughter Sarah become strained. Carl continually harasses Tom and his family, making Tom believe that he is going to attack and thus forcing Tom to take precautionary measures. Jack can also see that the family is in danger. Carl follows Edie and Sarah to a mall, where Edie panics when Sarah wanders off by herself. Edie finds Sarah, but she was being closely watched over by Carl. Carl tells Edie to ask Tom how come he is so good at killing people.

Jack has an argument with Tom over the use of violence after Jack brutally assaults the bully Bobby at school. Tom hits Jack in an attempt to dissuade Jack from using violence again. Jack runs off and is caught by Fogarty. With Jack as his hostage, Fogarty and his men go to the Stall house and demand that "Joey" return with them to Philadelphia. Tom kills Fogarty's men with the same precision he used against the robbers, while Jack kills Fogarty with a shotgun in defense of his father.

At the hospital, Edie confronts Tom, claiming that while he was attacking Fogarty's men, she saw the real "Joey" that Fogerty was talking about. Tom shocks Edie by admitting that he is actually Joey Cusack, and that he had killed for both money and pleasure. He tells Edie that he ran away from Philadelphia to escape his criminal past. Tom stated he spent 3 years changing his life around in order to rid himself of the violent gangster in him, and to start a normal life as "Tom Stall".

After Tom gets out of the hospital, Sam (Peter MacNeill), the local sheriff pays him a visit. Sam expresses his confusion about everything that happened. He tells them that these mobsters wouldn't go to all this trouble if they weren't sure they had the right man. Just when Tom is about to confess, Edie defends him and lies to Sam, claiming that Tom is who he says he is, and their family has suffered enough. At a loss for words after Edie breaks down into tears, Sam leaves. This furthers the tensions in their marriage. Edie and Tom then start slapping and hitting each other, their fight eventually culminating in violent sex on the stairs. Afterward, Edie and Jack continue to further distance themselves from Tom, leaving him isolated.

Tom receives a call from his brother Richie Cusack (William Hurt), who also demands his return to Philadelphia, or else he will come see him. After traveling to Philadelphia and confronting his brother, Tom learns that the other mobsters whom he had offended in Philadelphia took out their frustrations on Richie, preventing him from moving up in the criminal organization. Tom offers to make peace, but Richie orders his men to kill him. Tom offers to make peace, but Richie orders his men to kill his brother. Tom manages to kill most of the guards and escape. As Richie and his last henchman are hunting for him, Tom kills the henchman, takes his gun, and confronts Richie outside; stunned, Richie says "Jesus, Joey" before Tom kills him with a single gunshot to the head, responding "Jesus, Richie".

Tom returns home, but the atmosphere is tense and silent as the Stalls sit around the dinner table. The fate of his marriage and the future of his life as Tom Stall is uncertain, but Jack and Sarah indicate their acceptance of their father by setting a plate for him and passing him some food.