The film explores the lives of a group of people who develop a sexual obsession with car crashes. After a near-fatal accident, television producer James Ballard (played by James Spader) becomes drawn into a dark subculture of individuals who are aroused by the violence and destruction of automobile collisions. Led by the enigmatic and scarred Dr. Robert Vaughan (Elias Koteas), the group re-enacts famous crashes and explores the link between technology, trauma, and eroticism.