As his marriage crumbles, Julian Long, an ethics professor, turns his attentions toward a bright but troubled student, Vanessa Coolidge, after she begins to show up to class with signs of abuse. As Julian attempts to intervene on behalf of his student, he finds that his moral principles and ethical beliefs are no match for the dangerous rules and visceral lifestyle that dominate Vanessa's world. When Julian makes a desperate attempt to "save" Vanessa from what he believes is a deadly downward spiral, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that will ironically trap him into a prison crafted from his righteousness for the ethical morality he so strongly clings to.