Film refers to the tongue-in-cheek Internet award bestowed upon those who die or maim themselves out of colossal stupidity. The often posthumous honor is designed to recognize catastrophes so egregious that, by the death of those responsible, the gene pool is improved for future generations. Fiennes plays a forensic detective who pairs with an insurance claims investigator (Ryder) on a road trip to create the profile of a potential Darwin Award winner.