The film stars Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan as two Boston private investigators hunting for a young girl abducted from her single mother's apartment in Dorchester.

Patrick Kenzie and his partner and girlfriend Angie Gennaro witness a televised plea by Helene McCready for the return of her abducted four-year-old daughter Amanda, whose favorite doll is Mirabelle.

Patrick and Angie meet with police detectives Remy Bressant and Nick Poole who tell them about Corwin Earle, a known child molester who they consider a suspect.

Helene reveals she buried the money in Ray’s backyard and tearfully makes Patrick promise he will bring Amanda home alive.

The following day, Captain Jack Doyle reads Patrick a telephone transcript of Cheese calling the station to set up an exchange for the girl.

Two months later, a seven-year-old boy is abducted in Everett, and Patrick receives information from Bubba that Corwin Earle is living with two married cocaine addicts.

Patrick discusses the choice with Angie, who says she will hate him if he returns Amanda to her mother, making the case that the girl will grow up much more safely and happily if they leave her to be raised by Doyle.

They then sit in silence watching TV, with Patrick realizing Helene didn't even know her daughter's favorite doll's name, wondering if he had made a mistake bringing her back to this toxic household.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Ben Affleck proves his directing credentials in this gripping dramatic thriller, drawing strong performances from the excellent cast and bringing working-class Boston to the screen.

"[6] Patrick Radden Keefe criticized the film for overstating the case in an otherwise laudable attempt to "capture Boston in all its sordid glory," writing that "The result is not so much what Mean Streets did for New York as what Deliverance did for Appalachia.

In an issue of Vrij Nederland, Dutch critic and writer Arnon Grunberg called the book good, but the movie better, saying "Gone Baby Gone might not be a perfect film, but it's definitely an important one, if only to raise the question: 'What is home?