John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) is an ordinary man whose life revolves around his family. His wife Denise (Kimberly Elise) and young son Michael (Daniel E. Smith) are his world. But when Michael falls seriously ill and needs an emergency heart transplant operation that John Q. can’t afford and his health insurance won't cover, he vows to do whatever it will take to keep his son alive. With time and options running out, a desperate gamble becomes his only hope--he takes the hospital emergency room hostage.