Paul Kersey and his daughter Carol, who is still catatonic from the attack that included the murder of her mother Joanna, now live in Los Angeles because Paul accepted a deal from the NYPD to leave town so they wouldn't tell anyone that he was the one who was doing a better job than the NYPD at stopping criminals. Paul now has a new woman in his life, KABC news reporter Geri Nichols. One day while he's out with Carol and Geri, Paul is mugged by some punks. Paul fights back, but they get away. The muggers want to get back at Paul for fighting back, so they go to his house. Paul is not there, but Carol is. So they rape and murder Paul's cook, and kidnap Carol and rape her -- the second time in her life that she's been raped, and she didn't even have a chance to recover from the first rape. After the muggers are done, Carol escapes and jumps from a window -- and she dies when she becomes impaled on the railings below. Paul is fed up with his family being attacked all the time, no matter where they live, so Paul rents a ratty hotel room, disguises himself, and sets out to find the muggers who killed Carol. When the LAPD deduces that that they have a vigilante on their hands, they decide to consult with the NYPD, who had their vigilante problem years ago. The NYPD, now knowing that Kersey lives in Los Angeles, fears that Kersey is killing criminals again. Fearing that Kersey, when caught, will reveal that they let him go instead of prosecuting him, the NYPD sends Inspector Frank Ochoa to make sure that doesn't happen. But Ochoa gets killed in a car crash at an LA freeway ramp while Paul is still trying to find the muggers.
