In Mexico City, the kidnapping of children is on the rise, and wealthy families live in fear of their loved ones being snatched for ransom. Amidst this climate of dread, former CIA operative and U.S. Marine Force Recon officer, John W. Creasy is hired as a bodyguard for 9-year-old Pita Ramos, the daughter of industrialist Samuel Ramos and his American wife Lisa. Worn down by his past experiences and struggling with alcoholism, Creasy is initially indifferent towards his job and his charge. However, Pita's lively and innocent nature gradually breaks through his defenses, and he forms a close bond with the child, giving him a renewed purpose in life.

The newfound stability in Creasy's life is shattered when Pita is abducted in broad daylight during a piano lesson. Despite his efforts to prevent the kidnapping, Creasy is severely wounded during the incident. Filled with guilt and rage from his failure to protect Pita, he vows to exact vengeance on those responsible. As he recovers from his injuries, Creasy becomes a man driven by an inexorable will to seek and deliver retribution, embarking on a relentless pursuit of justice that draws him deep into a dangerous labyrinth of corruption and crime. His quest propels him against a cabal of powerful adversaries who underestimate the lengths a man will go to save the child he has come to love as his own.