***SPOILERS*** In order to cover his behind in a murder that he committed eight years ago mob boss Johnny Harmon, Jason Evers, is out to get all those eye witnesses who can have him convicted of that murder eliminated. One of those is a good friend of his and former #1 hit-man Nick Carl, Syiart Whitman, who's out of commission as a hit-man for the last eight years living with his wife and two sons in far off France. As a courtesy Nick answers Harmon's call to come to San Francisco to come out of retirement and help him out in a job, hit-job, he has planned for him in the city. Unknown to Carl the person who's to be hit is Carl himself!
It's both Let. Det Mike Stone & his partner inspector Steve Keller, Karl Malden & Michael Douglas, who in the process of protecting government witness, to Harmon's murder, Fred Barber, George Wallace, who get the word from a security guard at the San Francisco Airport that Nick Carl is in town and up to no good. it was Carl who 12 years ago was responsible to gunning down Let. Det. Stone's partner and he hasn't forgotten that. Which makes him more then eager to catch Carl in the act and bring him to justice. What Let. Det. Stone doesn't realize is that Harmon and his hoods are planning to do the job for him.
***SPOILERS*** It took a while for Carl to realize that Harmon was planning to have him knocked off by him getting false information from one of his flunkies blind bartender Tim Murphy, Jack Albertson, that he promised to pay for his eye transplant operation. It was Murphy who lead Carl right into the trap that Harmon set for him that in fact backfired. From then on knowing what his "good friend" whom he protected for the last eight years, by keeping his mouth shut about the murder he committed, was in fact planning to knock him off Carl in protecting him and his family by sending all the information, via the US Mail, about his murder to the D.A's office 1st class & Special Delivery! But only after he paid a startled Harmon a surprise visit with Det. Let. Stone & Inspector Keller together with the SFPD as well as FBI not far behind!