Based on the international bestseller by Caleb Carr, The Alienist is a psychological thriller set in the Gilded Age of New York City in 1896 - a city of vast wealth, extreme poverty and technological innovation. As a serial killer haunts the city, Dr Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Bruhl), a criminal psychologist - also known as an alienist - partners with newspaper illustrator John Moore (Luke Evans) and young secretary Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) to solve the case. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and early forensic investigation techniques, this band of social outsiders tracks down one of New York City's first serial killers.