In the Shadow of Iris

In 1988, a series of gruesome deaths occur in Philadelphia as several individuals simultaneously hemorrhage to death. The victims suffer from disintegrating brains, leading to massive blood loss, which sparks an urgent investigation by local authorities.

Police officer Thomas Lockhart and his partner Maddox embark on a murder investigation alongside Detective Holt. They draw connections from the victims' puncture wounds and toxicology reports, suggesting a mysterious substance is involved in the deaths.

The investigation takes a dark turn when Lockhart and Maddox find an assault victim who shares insights about her attacker. Just before she succumbs to the same fate as the previous victims, she describes her assailant as a black woman with a wounded hand.

Lockhart and Maddox pursue the suspect into a subway, leading to a tense confrontation. The suspect reveals eerie details about Lockhart's life, including personal events, before she meets her tragic end under a train, deepening the investigation's mystery.

Amidst the chaos of the investigation, tragedy strikes Lockhart personally as his wife dies during childbirth. This profound loss devours his focus and complicates his quest for closure in the ongoing murder case.

Nine years later in 1997, the chilling echoes of 1988 emerge as a copycat killer resumes the gruesome attacks. Now a detective, Lockhart juggles his duties and personal life while searching for a motive behind the new murders.

Lockhart makes a shocking discovery linking the 1997 killings back to the original suspect from 1988. This revelation stirs suspicions of time travel, as he believes to see the same woman who should have been dead for nearly a decade.

By 2006, Lockhart has become a private investigator consumed by the unsolved case. His conviction grows that the murders are tied to time travel, igniting a quest to uncover and confront the truth behind the violent legacy.

Lockhart discovers a previously unrecorded victim who was linked to a white nationalist group. Through conversations with the victim's wife, he begins to connect a chilling pattern between victims from the previous murder sprees.

Against the advice of his friends, Lockhart cuts ties with law enforcement to pursue his theory that the suspect is traveling back in time to eliminate members of a militia group. His reckless decision leads him to the girlfriend of a victim, discovering she has been murdered.

Lockhart manages to injure the suspect during a confrontation, but she utilizes a hidden time machine to escape after he wounds her hand. After being arrested, he believes he must wait for another encounter in nine years.

In 2015, while awaiting the arrival of the suspect, Lockhart receives a distressing voicemail from his daughter, Amy. He is suddenly kidnapped by Naveen Rao, who believes that the woman's actions are justifiable against future threats.

Lockhart is stunned when the woman he confronts reveals herself as Rya, his granddaughter, who has traveled back through time to prevent a horrific future. She discloses a tragic truth about her mission's origin and their intertwined fates.

Overwhelmed with the weight of destiny, Lockhart confesses that he inadvertently caused Rya's existence to be a one-way mission. Despite his efforts to persuade her to abandon her path, she remains steadfast in her belief that her cause is just.

In an emotional conclusion, Lockhart reunites with his family following Rya's sacrificial mission, holding her infant form while speaking words of comfort. A voiceover reveals that his choices have irrevocably shaped the future, but now hope emerges from the shadows.