Washington, D.C. detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) heads to Durham, North Carolina to solve a homicide (where a beaten wife has killed her husband) when his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera), a college student, is reported missing.He learns from the local police, including Detective Nick Ruskin (Cary Elwes), that Naomi is the latest in a series of young women who have vanished. Soon after his arrival, one of the missing women is found dead, bound to a tree in a desolate forest, and shortly after that, intern Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is kidnapped from her home.When she awakens from a drugged state, Kate discovers that she is being held captive by a masked man calling himself Casanova, and she is one of several prisoners trapped in his lair. She manages to escape and is severely injured when she jumps from a cliff and into a river to escape from his clutches. After she recuperates, she joins forces with Cross to track down her sadomasochist captor, who Cross concludes is a collector, not a killer, unless his victims fail to follow his rules. Cross discovers that during captivity, Kate was drugged with Sistol (something that doesn't show up in urine). He puts trace on doctors who ordered Sistol in the last few weeks. It leads him to William Rudolph, who grew up in Durham, but now lives in LA.This means there is time to rescue the other imprisoned women, as long as they remain obedient.Clues led them to Los Angeles, where a series of gruesome kidnappings and murders have been credited to Dr. William Rudolph (Tony Goldwyn), a man known as the Gentleman Caller. Cross deduces he is working in collusion with rather than imitating his East Coast counterpart, but Cross's efforts to capture and question Rudolph are foiled when Rudolph escapes. Upon returning to North Carolina, Cross traces Casanova up the river. Alerted by a gunshot, he discovers the underground hideaway used by Casanova, as well as his true identity. Rudolph is revealed to be Casanova's partner. Casanova escapes, while Rudolph is shot by Cross. Cross rescues the kidnapped women, including Naomi.After all that has happened, Kate invites Cross to dinner at her house to get away from work. Ruskin drops by Kate's house and sends home the two officers guarding her. While Cross is at home preparing to meet Kate for dinner, he discovers that Ruskin's signature on the arrest warrants matches Casanova's handwriting. Cross tries telephoning Kate to inform her that Ruskin is the real Casanova, but Ruskin has already disconnected her phone line. While conversing with Ruskin, Kate becomes suspicious of his creepy elaborations. Ruskin then drops his Southern accent, revealing he is Casanova. After a fight and attempted sexual assault, Kate manages to handcuff him to the oven. Ruskin slashes Kate's arm with a kitchen knife.In attempting to free himself, Ruskin pulls the oven away from the wall, rupturing the gas pipe. Ruskin takes out a lighter, threatening to cause an explosion due to the leaking gas. Cross shows up and tries to discourage Ruskin. When this fails, Cross shoots Ruskin, using a milk carton so his gun's muzzle blast does not ignite the gas. Cross comforts Kate as the police arrive.