She begins in a convenience store, where she kills a man in self-defense and takes the surveillance camera evidence, and then on another night she shoots two young men who threaten to rape her.

She leads a double life; by day, she's a popular radio-show host who speaks about her life experiences; but at night, when she pursues her vengeance on the criminal element, we see her swell up with courage and purpose.

Foster starts off peculiarly bad, with a clichéd enactment of true love, but further into the movie, she winds up being very good, subtly detailing her character’s transformative journey into the heart of darkness without losing the humanity. Even her physical looks change throughout the film.