About the title
Ambitious reporter Michael Finkel is going through a crisis after being disgracefully fired from the respected New York Times. One day he is contacted by the FBI and told that Christian Longo, a brutal killer in police custody, claims to have modeled his entire life on Michael Finkel's. Since the journalist is his idol, Michael Finkel meets Christian Longo in prison. Michael wants to find out whether Longo is really guilty of murdering his wife and three children. Longo promises to tell only him the true story of the killing, if Finkel teaches him to write like a real, honest reporter. While awaiting trial, the journalist and the prisoner engage in verbal battles. But who is really manipulating whom in these exchanges?