In Surinam, South America, Clement “The Doctor” Molloch supervises the torture of a dissident journalist named Jorge Hidalgo before an audience of military leaders. Hidalgo is stripped and electrodes are applied to his body. Before the torture begins, Molloch is apprised of an uprising outside the city and told he must get to his hotel. First, Molloch orders the electricity turned on and Hidalgo is shocked to death. Outside, revolutionaries attach explosives under Molloch’s automobile, but a second car arrives and whisks the doctor and his sister, Claire, to safety. Meanwhile, a soldier starts the first car, with the saboteur still underneath, detonating the explosive and killing them both. In the Cayman Islands, a retired assassin named Holland lives on a remote beach. A boat arrives, bringing Hector Lomelin, an academic and friend of Jorge Hidalgo. Lomelin informs Holland of Hidalgo’s death and offers to hire him to assassinate Molloch. However, Holland insists he is retired and refuses. In Guatemala City, Colonel Aristos, a Guatemalan army officer, informs Molloch that the Council for Central American States is convening an inquiry into “human rights violations,” causing Molloch to scoff. On behalf of the President of Guatemala, Aristos asks Molloch and his sister, Claire, to leave the country. Meanwhile, Holland travels to Mexico City, Mexico, and informs Lomelin that he has changed his mind about killing Molloch and will waive his fee. Lomelin warns Holland that Molloch will be leaving Guatemala in few weeks, and offers to put the assassin in touch with his source, Max Ortiz. Holland requests a woman and child to accompany him to Guatemala so he will appear to be a family man on vacation. Lomelin introduces Holland to Rhiana, Hidalgo’s widow, and her young daughter, Sarah. Holland is at first reluctant because Rhiana is too close to the situation, but acquiesces. In Guatemala City, the “family” visits Max Ortiz, who briefs Holland on the three men closest to Molloch: Randolph Whitley, a communications expert; Karl Hauser, a former Green Beret and CIA agent; and Cillero, Molloch’s driver. Holland requests a sawed-off shotgun and a handgun. Max informs him that Molloch rarely appears in public, but does attend cockfights. Max takes Holland and Rhiana to a match and notes that Molloch and his sister, Claire, are inseparable. Molloch recognizes Rhiana and assigns a crippled man to follow her. Later, Rhiana confides to Max that she finds Holland’s stoicism unnerving. Max shows Holland Molloch’s heavily guarded residence, and Holland observes the supposedly crippled man speak to Randolph, while walking without his crutch or a limp. Later, Holland urges Rhiana and Sarah to return to Mexico because he no longer needs them, but the woman insists on staying. Meanwhile, Molloch sends Raymond to blackmail U.S. diplomat Paul Briggs into pressuring the Guatemalan government to allow Molloch to remain in the country. After leaving Sarah with Max, Holland and Rhiana follow Raymond to the American embassy and then to a seedy bar. There, a large man attempts to fondle Rhiana and Holland physically subdues him. Raymond notices Holland’s prowess and inquires why a tourist would enter such an establishment. Holland introduces himself and Rhiana as “Bart and Nancy Smith” from Nebraska, and invites Raymond to join them in a ménage à trois. At the hotel, Holland kills Raymond with a knife and when Rhiana gets upset, he instructs her to get Sarah on the first plane home. Later, Holland dumps Raymond’s body outside Molloch’s residence and fires a warning shot. In the morning, Rhiana telephones Holland and informs him she is not leaving until Molloch is dead. Holland warns that an emotional vendetta is dangerous, and asks Max for firearms and the address of Claire’s apartment in the city. Later, Hauser goes to the bar to inquire about Raymond, but Holland is waiting and strangles him. Molloch calls on Briggs, demanding he find out who killed Raymond and Karl. Meanwhile, Holland sneaks into Claire’s apartment and waits as she makes love with a young woman. After her lover leaves, Claire takes a shower and Molloch’s driver, Cillero, enters. Holland subdues him, ties a fire hose around his neck, and tosses him off the balcony, killing him. Holland takes Claire hostage and plans to move her to Max’s country home near the village of Magdalena. He suggests Max put Sarah on a plane and go into hiding himself, since the authorities would have connected him to Holland. Meanwhile, Briggs orders Colonel Aristos to find Max, and Molloch demands that the U.S. diplomat bring in outside assistance to locate Claire. In the country, Rhiana questions how Holland knew her husband, but he refuses to tell her because it would put her in more danger. She asks how much he is being paid, and he responds that where he lives, he has no need for money. Holland telephones Max and, when there is no answer, assumes that he and Sarah got away safely. Meanwhile, Molloch tortures Max, who reveals the location of his country house. Holland telephones Molloch and demands a $500 thousand ransom for Claire, but realizes the doctor knows where they are. As a car approaches the house, Holland takes the women outside and puts Claire in the car trunk, ordering Rhiana to drive. A chase ensues. The four men in the other car exchange gunfire with Holland. He wounds one man and his colleagues let the man out in a village. The chase continues and Holland kills another man, before their car crashes and bursts into flames. Rhiana drives into an embankment and when Holland checks on Claire in the trunk, he discovers that she has been killed in the crossfire. Holland and Rhiana bury Claire, purchase a farmer’s truck, and drive to the town of Magdalena, Guatemala. Meanwhile, Briggs, the American diplomat, gets word of his agents’ deaths, but still does not know who is responsible and proceeds to Magdalena. The farmer’s truck breaks down, forcing Holland and Rhiana to walk the final distance to Magdalena. Briggs and an agent, Cannell, find Holland in a café and attempt to negotiate Claire’s release, unaware that she is already dead. Cannell recognizes Holland and declares that the assassin is not interested in ransom money. Rhiana inadvertently walks in on the conversation, causing the men to draw their weapons. Holland kills Briggs and Cannell with a shotgun, then telephones Molloch and demands he come to Magdalena alone and meet him at a nearby mine. Holland instructs the miners to hide because a dangerous man is coming. Molloch arrives with an armed man and Rhiana’s daughter, Sarah, as a hostage. There is a standoff and Holland plays a tape recording of Claire to give the impression she is still alive. The leader of the miners, whose face is disfigured, recognizes Molloch as “the Doctor” and alerts his men. The miners surround Molloch, and one throws a large rock, striking the doctor’s gunman in the head. Sarah escapes the gunman’s grasp and Holland kills him. As Holland takes aim at Molloch, the miners close in on the doctor as he climbs into his car. Before Holland can shoot, the mob attacks the car with axes and picks, killing Molloch. Later, Rhiana and Sarah join Holland at his home in the Cayman Islands.