John Q. is a factory worker facing financial hardship as a result of reduced hours in his workplace. He and his wife soon discover that their child is in need of an emergency heart transplant. Although they have an HMO, they are informed that their policy doesn't cover such an expensive procedure. Unable to raise the money for the surgury himself and with no recourse but to take his son home to die, John snaps and holds the staff and patients of the hospital's emergency room hostage at gunpoint.