Expatriate Spencer Brydon returns to his now-empty childhood home, and finds himself obsessed with what his life would have been, had he not left America.
When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to kill the beast before it strikes again.
A cynical detective and a Roman Catholic bishop team up to investigate the reported miraculous powers of a 17-year-old girl being held captive in the home of her father, an ailing syndicate kingpin.