Plot

After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through the criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.

The story is set after a drug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.—Justin Kroll

A gang of thieves, consisting of Charlie (Justin Cornwell), Mia (Quelin Sepulveda), Johnny (Xelia Mendes-Jones) and Wes (Jim Caesar), steal a batch of washing machines that contains a hidden shipment of cocaine. They drive the machines away in a semi-trailer rig. They are pursued by Vincent (Timothy Olyphant), Hayes, Jake (Richard Harrington) and Cortez, a group of narcotics squad detectives. The chase is brutal causing heavy damage as it goes through the city. Cortez is badly wounded during the chase and hospitalized. Johnny and Wes are terrified of hurting a cope, but Charlie says that they need to complete the job for Mia, and offers to take the punishment for any other damages caused along the way, including putting a cop In ICU.

Later that night, Charlie and Mia take the stolen cocaine to Tsui (Jeremy Ang Jones), the head of the local Triad. Mia had previously stolen Tsui's car and was forced to work for him to pay off the debt. Wes and Johnny are stationed outside as Charlie and Mia meet Tsui to make the payment.

While there, a gang of masked assailants burst into the hideout, gunning down Tsui and his enforcers. Charlie and Mia barely escape. The masked gang is in league with Ching (Sunny Pang), Tsui's disgruntled lieutenant, who flees the scene shortly before they arrive. Johnny calls Mia and is able to warn her about the oncoming onslaught as he sees the assassins entering Tsui's hideout.

Patrick Walker (Tom Hardy) is a homicide detective, estranged from his family and on the payroll of Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker), a real estate tycoon, mayoral candidate, and Charlie's father. Helena (Narges Rashidi) is Patrick's wife, who tries to keep their 6-year-old daughter away from Patrick. Patrick is called in to investigate the Tsui murder scene which is a carnage. CCTV footage reveals the faces of Charlie and Mia, but they were only holding a pistol, while the murders were conducted with assault rifles and high velocity rounds. At the Tsui murder site, Carlie learns about the injury to Cortez. He is told that Cortez will survive and that he is currently undergoing surgery.

Upon learning that his son Charlie is accused of Tsui's murder, Lawrence commands Walker to find and protect him. Lawrence's campaign platform is his war on drugs, and he cannot afford to have Charlie as part of drug deal investigation. Lawrence threatens Walker that he knows what he and his buddies did and would put them in jail if Walker does not cooperate. Walker agrees to bring Charlie in exchange for squaring their accounts. Working with his rookie partner, Ellie (Jessie Mei Li), Walker begins hunting down leads for the location of Charlie and Mia.

He also visits Cortez at the hospital, as he used to be a member of the Narcotics squad, all of whom are on Lawrence's payroll. Walker is estranged from them following an incident where Vincent killed an undercover cop during a drug theft gone wrong. The cop was badly injured and Walker wanted to take him to the hospital, but Vincent did not want his ow corrupt dealing exposed and shot the undercover cop dead.

Vincent is adamant to catch Charlie for the injuries caused to Cortez. He argues that they being paid by Lawrence does not give Charlie a free pass to the city. Walker finds from Tsui's doorman that 3 assassins entered Tsui's establishment after Charlie and were responsible for the shootout.

As Walker investigates, Tsui's mother (Yeo Yann Yann) and Ching's older sister, a senior Triad leader nicknamed "Mother", arrives in the city and confronts Ching, demanding to know what happened to her son. Ching blames Charlie, and so Mother has Lawrence brutally kidnapped from his motorcade. Meanwhile Walker is removed from the case for with-holding information that Charlie was on the CCTV footage, as Charlie is being hunted by the police department for hurting Cortez.

Walker tracks down Mia's uncle, Raul (Luis Guzman), who is forging passports that Charlie and Mia can use to leave the country. Walker forces Raul into setting up a meeting at a nightclub that evening where the passports are to be picked up.

However, before Walker can get Charlie and Mia out safely, he is interrupted by the arrival of Vincent, Hayes and Jake. Mia identifies Vincent as Tsui's killer. Raul, Johnny, Wes and triads sent by Mother also arrive, resulting in a mass brawl and shootout. Hayes, Raul, Johnny, Wes and scores of Triads are killed. Walker barely escapes with Mia and a wounded Charlie.

Walker realizes that Vincent and his colleagues were actually seeking to hijack the cocaine shipment for themselves, rather than capture Charlie and his crew. Vincent is in league with Ching, who has a buyer for cocaine. He sought to profit from the deal and take out Tsui, whom he resented for being promoted to head the city Triad over him. Walker narrates his theory to Ellie and asks her for a way into the hospital to protect Cortez. Tying up loose ends, Ching arrives at the hospital and murders Cortez and his wife. Ellie, sent by Walker to protect Cortez, pursues and captures him.

Walker calls Lawrence and says that he has Charlie, but the phone is picked up by Mother. Ellie cannot find Walker and she reaches out to Helena who tells her that Walker has a place by the lake. Walker takes Charlie and Mia to his father's old cabin on the city's outskirts. The Triads track them down and begin a massive assault, forcing the three to fight them off in a gun battle. They kill many of the assailants, but Charlie and Mia are captured. Walker kills the Assassin (Michelle Waterson), Mother's lead enforcer, after a brutal fight in which he is badly wounded. Mother arrives with her bodyguards and Lawrence. Still believing Charlie killed Tsui, she forces Lawrence to play a game of Russian Roulette with Mia.

Ellie uses Ching to lure Vincent and Jake to an abandoned rail-yard and then captures them. However, Ellie arrives, having captured Vincent and Jake alongside Ching. She reveals them as the guilty parties. Ching admits that he plotted Tsui's death because he was jealous of his sister passing the leadership position to her son instead of him after their eldest brother, the previous Triad leader, died. Jake suddenly breaks free and tries to shoot Charlie, but Lawrence shields him, dying in Charlie's arms. Ching and traitorous Triad members loyal to him shoot Mother and her loyalists dead. Ching also wounds Vincent, who in turn guns Ching down and flees with the cocaine. Walker pursues him.

Ellie and Jake fight, and Jake is on the verge of shooting Ellie when Charlie guns him down in revenge for his father. Vincent attempts to flee via train but is shot and wounded by Walker. They argue and Vincent shoots Walker, prompting him to fire back and shoot Vincent dead.

With the police arriving and the heat still on them, Ellie lets Charlie and Mia go. Ellie and a grievously wounded Walker talk, and he urges her to arrest him. She refuses, and Walker looks upon the arriving police cars with an uncertain fate.