Seven opens with the imminent retirement of Somerset, a new York detective,and the arrival on the scene of Mills, his new partner and future replacement. The two men are temperamentally poles apart, and there is tension between them the first minute.The detective are sent to investigate two murder cases. The first involves the murder of grotesquely obese man, and the second is an obscenely rich New York lawyer. The murders are linked in an alarming manner: on the wall of the first scene is marked “Gluttony”, and on the floor of the second the word “Greed” has been drawn in the victim’s blood. Noting that gluttony and greed are two of the seven deadly sins, Somerset infers that they are dealing with a serial killer, and there will be another five murders imminent. In the face of this challenging case, Somerset’s resignation request is turned down; instead, he is obliged to join Mills in the hunt for the killer. The man together uncovers the bodies of more victims. They track down the killer, John Doe, at his apartment. Mills attempts to apprehend him. Doe gets the better end of them and traps Mills in the Alley. With the point of a gun against his head, Mills pleads for mercy, and Doe leaves. With two murders still undiscovered, Doe arrives at the police station and hands himself in. With his lawyer he arranges a plea bargain, whereby he signs a confession in the condition that he is allowed to guide Somerset and Mills to the remaining bodies. Somerset and Mills accept. Under Doe’s direction, they drive to the desert, where the car is stopped and the three men get out. A truck approaches and Somerset goes to investigate, while Mills stands with his gun pointing at Doe. The driver has a delivery-a box addressed to Mills. Somerset opens the box, and finds out that it contains the severed head of Mills’ beloved wife, Tracy. Determined to know what is in the box, Mills discovers the gruesome truth, and in a moment of extreme rage executes Doe. Mills is arrested and driven off in the police car, himself now a murder. The final victim are Mills and Doe himself---Doe for his self-confessed envy of the normal lives of people like Tracy, and Mills for his anger.