皮特(柯林·法瑞尔 Colin Farrell 饰)是一名心地善良的男子,却在无奈之下加入了名为“短尾巴”的黑帮组织,成为了一名小偷。一场意外中,皮特得罪了黑帮大佬索穆斯(罗素·克劳 Russell Crowe 饰),引来了杀身之祸,为了保命,他不得不踏上了逃亡的旅途。 某日,皮特潜入了报业大亨艾萨克(威廉·赫特 William Hurt 饰)的豪宅之中企图行窃,没想到却遇见了艾萨克的女儿贝弗利(杰西卡·布朗·芬德利 Jessica Brown Findlay 饰), 贝弗利的温柔和美丽很快就吸引了皮特的注意,两人双双坠入了爱河。然而,灾难发生了,贝弗利因为感染了肺病不幸去世,皮特陷入了痛苦和绝望中无法自拔。一场意外中,皮特闯入了环绕城市的云墙之中,从此了无音讯,当他再度出现在人们的视野中之时,百年已经匆匆流逝。New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake (Colin Farrell), orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter, an Irish burglar in his early 20's, and Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a young girl, who is dying.