Near Ankara, Turkey, a huge poppy field is destroyed through the work of U.S. Special Agent Cleopatra Jones, a stunning African-American woman whose fighting skills and intelligence are admired throughout the world. The raid, which destroys thirty million dollars' worth of potential heroin, infuriates Mommy, the ringleader of a Los Angeles, California, drug trade. Mommy, a violent, middle-aged lesbian, tells her accountant son, Brucie, and her henchmen, including Zap and Baby Tony, that she will destroy Cleo’s favorite charity, B&S House, a cultural center and rehabilitation facility for drug addicts, which will force her to return to Los Angeles, where Mommy plans to have her killed. Mommy calls her connection in the police department, and soon after, Lt. Frank Randall is leading a raid on B&S House, which is run by Reuben Masters, Cleo’s paramour, who is determined to end drug trafficking in the Watts neighborhood. Accompanying Randall is the cool-headed Sgt. Kert, who attempts to persuade Randall to wait until they contact Capt. Crawford, a personal friend of Cleo. Randall insists that Crawford cannot be reached and orders patrol officer Purdy, a virulent racist, to begin the operation. The small wooden house is ransacked in the ensuing debacle, during which young Jimmy Beeker is found with a bag of heroin. Jimmy cries out to Reuben that he has gone straight and the drugs were planted on him, but Reuben, disappointed in Jimmy and enraged by the excessive police force, does not know what to believe. At police headquarters, Crawford upbraids Randall and the others for the raid, which he believes was unnecessary, but Purdy points out that drugs were found. Upon hearing of the bust, Cleo immediately returns to the States and is attacked at the L.A. airport by three of Mommy’s gunmen. Cleo bests the men, killing one of them, before showing her identification to the responding police and heading home. Cleo calls Crawford to complain about the raid, and he assures her that if he had been contacted, he would have prevented it, although he has not yet ascertained who is behind it. Crawford and Kert meet with Cleo, and she identifies the “rap sheet” photos of two of her attackers. Meanwhile, Mommy is castigating Baby Tony and Zap, the men who escaped Cleo’s wrath, for not killing the government agent. She points out that they are losing the respect and fear of the community, and consequently have not been paid by their highest earner, pusher Doodlebug Simpkins. Back at their meeting, Crawford is counseling Cleo to refrain from investigating the B&S bust, as it is not in her jurisdiction, and Cleo coolly responds, “My jurisdiction extends from Ankara, Turkey to Watts Tower, baby.” Crawford warns her that Reuben is threatening a full-out war if the district attorney attempts to close down the organization, and Cleo asserts that she can control Reuben. When she goes to B&S House, Cleo is confronted by a teenager named Annie, who accuses the stylishly attired Cleo of no longer caring about their neighborhood. Cleo is affronted but Annie is reprimanded by Reuben, who is delighted to see her, despite their troubles. Reuben shows Cleo a youth who is withdrawing cold turkey and laments the fact that if the house is closed, the desperate citizens will have nowhere to go. Cleo pleads with Reuben not to initiate any violence and promises to resolve the situation within three days. When she is departing, however, a sniper on an opposing building opens fire, wounding Reuben in the shoulder, but Cleo, withdrawing a mini-machine gun from the weapons cache in the passenger door of her Corvette, returns fire. Upon entering the building, Cleo is attacked by two disguised men, but she outdraws and kills them. Meanwhile, in his luxurious apartment, the dandyish Doodlebug complains to his men, Fireplug and Pickle, about Mommy bringing Cleo back to town. His rant is interrupted by the arrival of Cleo, who tosses a wig worn by one of the disguised hit men at him and accuses him of being complicit in the frame-up of Jimmy. Doodlebug protests that he had nothing to do with the attempted assassination nor with the raid, and implies that a low-level dealer named Snake sold the heroin to Jimmy. Cleo watches with interest as Doodlebug fawns over his timid girl friend, singer Tiffany Payne, then warns him that she will come back to “get” him. Cleo next meets with brothers Matthew and Melvin Johnson, karate instructors who occasionally work with her, and asks them to follow Purdy. Later, Doodlebug informs Mommy that he is establishing his own business. Although Mommy attempts to bribe him, Doodlebug throws the wig at her and storms out. The next day, Zap, Baby Tony and other thugs chase Cleo, but thanks to her exceptional driving skills, she easily outraces them. At night, Doodlebug picks up Tiffany from his nightclub, but as they drive away, a huge tow truck smashes into their car, killing Fireplug, Pickle and their driver, although the wounded Tiffany is able to escape, much to the dismay of Zap and Baby Tony, who dispatch the dying Doodlebug with a burst of gunfire. The next day, Cleo confronts Snake, quickly disarming him as he attempts to stab her. When Cleo begins to destroy his drug stash, Snake admits that Pickle ordered him to kill her, and that the drugs were planted on Jimmy, although he does not know by whom. After flushing Snake’s drugs down the toilet, Cleo receives a call on her car phone and drives away to intercept a deal between Purdy and two arms dealers. She catches Purdy selling confiscated guns, and he is arrested by Crawford. When Cleo mentions that she must talk to Doodlebug, Crawford informs her that he has been murdered. Hoping to find Tiffany, Cleo questions her brother, who reveals that Tiffany is hiding at a nearby church. There, Cleo finds the younger girl, who tearful admits that she was too weak-willed to resist the easy life that Doodlebug offered her. They are then surprised by Kert, who with Zap and Baby Tony had followed Cleo, and Kert reveals that he is Mommy’s police connection. The women are taken to an automobile junkyard, where Mommy gleefully demonstrates her power by having Baby Tony crushed by a car compactor. Just as Tiffany and Cleo are about to be killed, the Johnson brothers arrive and, after taking control of the crane, lower the car bearing the women to the ground. They are joined by numerous neighborhood friends and soon the gangsters have been rounded up. Cleo chases Mommy up the ladder to the compactor, and, as they fight, Cleo tosses the drug pusher to the ground. Soon after, Crawford, Reuben and her other friends bid farewell to Cleo, who is leaving to begin another mission.