In the summer of 2001 the bodies of several prostitutes are found, unceremoniously dumped at the sides of St Louis' highways. For over a year, police and FBI are mystified as to who is behind the murders. But then in May 2002, someone claiming to be the killer sends the police a letter along with a map printed from a computer-mapping site. The map leads police to the remains of another body. What the killer doesn't realise is that he has unwittingly led the investigators right to his door. Police are able to trace the making of the map to a computer belonging to a Maury Troy Travis, a 36-year-old waiter born and raised in St. Louis. When police descend on his home, they uncover the true horror of Travis' crimes: a torture dungeon where he filmed his horrific abuse and even some of the murders of his victims. But before Travis can be charged and receive justice for his crimes, he commits suicide in his prison cell, leaving police and relatives of victims with unanswered questions.