Professional mercenary Karl Thomasson, his friend Macy, and an albanian girl are being held in a brutal Kosovo prison where Macy is severely beaten. Just before he dies, Macy gives Karl a medal to give to Macy's daughter Nicole Stewart, who is a professor of english at Eastern Atlantic University on Long Island in New York. Karl and the Albanian girl then escape, and Karl kills their two captors. Three months later, Karl shows up at the university and visits Nicole, who is reluctant to accept Macy's medal because due to his military obligations, Macy was out of Nicole's life more than he was in it. Soon after Karl visits Nicole, she is brutally beaten up. When Karl hears of this, he has his friends Ed Lincoln and Rahmel help him take over as Nicole's substitute under a false name, then Karl brings another mercenary friend named Andy in on the investigation of the beating so Andy can work with Karl, Ed, and Rahmel.