As a major storm approaches the outskirts of Atlantic City, a newly sober police detective goes to extreme measures to make sure that his estranged family does not fall victim to the vengeance of a local crime lord.
Babel "Babs" Johnson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is a police detective who finds himself assigned to a precinct in the Wetlands, the no-man's land surrounding Atlantic City, within eyeshot of the fancy hotels and boardwalk, but a world away.
With a new partner, a fun-loving gambling addict named Paddy Sheehan (Christopher MacDonald), Babs adjust slowly back to life on the beat. A year ago, he was a top cop in Philadelphia, but a secret drug problem and connections to a murdered dealer landed him in rehab. Now sober, he's eager to try to connect with his pre-teen daughter, Amy (Celeste O'Connor), which means dealing with his still-bitter ex, Savannah (Heather Graham).Savannah's new love is known as Surfer Girl (Reyna de Courcy), a surfboard builder who has dreams of moving to Hawaii to ply her trade. Surfer Girl makes some money on the side selling drugs for a local thug, Jimmy (Louis Mustillo), and when she rips him off, Jimmy threatens Amy, who often hangs out with Surfer Girl. Watching over his daughter like a hawk, even though their moments of contact are awkward, Babs confronts both Surfer Girl and Jimmy, warning them to leave his daughter out of their dispute.
Meanwhile, as the region prepares for a massive, late-season hurricane, Babs finds that the only one he can be vulnerable with is his partner Paddy's wife, Kate (Jennifer Ehle), a local news anchor who is tired of her aging husband's careless behavior. As the storm approaches, Surfer Girl contemplates one big move against the abusive Jimmy, only to have her plan thwarted by Babs, who has been following her. Though at first it seems like violence can be avoided, the next day abody washes up in a local swamp, turning the eye of suspicion to the new cop with the violent past. Babs must act quickly to solve the murder and clear his name before his own weaknesses and poor decisions from the past overtake and destroy him.