In a run-down neighborhood in Dorchester, Boston, three-year-old Amanda McCready has been abducted along with her favorite doll, Mirabelle. P.I. Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his partner and girlfriend Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) witness a televised plea for Amanda's return by her mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), amid a media frenzy. The girl's aunt Bea hires them to find Amanda.