讲述的是1987年在英格兰一个小城镇里一个十几岁的移民男孩通过男歌手布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀的音乐找到理想、信念和自由的故事。

　　Abandoned by his father at the age of five and raised in near isolation by a loving, yet emotionally unstable and over-protective mother, the only life Peel Munter has ever known is within the confines of his childhood home. Upon his mother's unexpected death, 30-year-old Peel is left lost and utterly alone. With no job, family, or friends, he must make a choice; live as his mother did, lonely and unsettled, or change the course of his impending fate by breaking out into the unknown, facing the trials and tribulations of an outside world he doesn't understand. Unable to make the house payments, Peel decides to take in a couple of drifters as roommates. After forging what seems to be a burgeoning new family and brotherhood, one of the roommates betrays Peel's trust, compelling Peel to venture out in search of his long-lost, real brothers who had been taken away from him decades ago. Along the way, Peel's lack of cynicism and innocence has an inadvertent, yet powerful effect on those he meets, as he brings a group of marginalized misfits closer to their true home.

　　故事发生在2003年的英国，凯瑟琳（凯拉·奈特莉 Keira Knightley 饰）是服务于英国情报机构的政府通讯翻译官，某日，她收到了一封加密邮件，该邮件揭露了美国国安局串通英国政府，企图入侵伊拉克发动战争的阴谋。
　　凯瑟琳过着人人羡慕的安稳生活，领着不菲的薪水，有着无量的前途。这封邮件让她陷入了纠结之中，究竟是视若无睹还是勇敢的站出来检举揭发，最终，正义感战胜了私欲，凯瑟琳和律师本（拉尔夫·费因斯 Ralph Fiennes 饰）联手将这封邮件公之于众，很快就引起了群情激奋。紧接着，凯瑟琳就因为违反了《国家机密法》而被指控为叛国罪。

　　在十九世纪的斯诺登尼亚（Snowdonia），一个年轻的女孩拼命捍卫自己的家园

　　彼得（乔尔·金纳曼 Joel Kinnaman 饰）曾经是一名精明强干的特种兵，因为一场意外而锒铛入狱，身陷囹圄的彼得被告知可以获得提前释放的机会，但作为交换，彼得必须成为联邦调查局的线人，暗中协助调查局派出的卧底，合力将黑帮老大拉下马。
　　心心念念妻子的安危，彼得接受了联邦调查局开出的条件，哪知道任务刚刚执行没多久，卧底就曝光了身份惨遭杀害。黑帮老大要求彼得补偿由于他的失误而给帮派造成的损失，进一步命令他回到监狱中，在那里暗中进行毒品交易。与此同时，彼得的举动也引起了纽约警方的注意，一时之间，彼得被夹在三股强大的势力之间，每天都徘徊在死亡边缘。