Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sheriff of the sleepy town of Sommerton Junction, on the US-Mexico border.

Ray is looking forward to a day off, leaving his three deputies — Sarah Torrance (Jaimie Alexander), Jerry Bailey (Zach Gilford) and Mike Figuerola (Luis Guzman) — in charge. Alas, news filters through that notorious drugs kingpin Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) has escaped FBI custody and is heading south in a specially outfitted Corvette ZR1 with Agent Ellen Richards (Genesis Rodriguez) as a hostage.

While lead agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) and his team race to Sommerton Junction, Ray rallies his troops to form a human barricade against the bad guys.