In 2053, William “Blade” Hunter is a former Los Angeles Police Department officer turned private detective. He is hired after the mayor’s rebellious daughter, Chandra, is found dead and horribly mutated after using a new designer drug called MTZ.

Blade follows leads from Chandra’s streetwise friend, “the Jake,” and from there traces the drug to Chen Lu, who is later found assassinated after drawing attention to the case. As Blade investigates with help from his girlfriend Karyn, who works at the Crime Records Bureau, he learns that MTZ is part of an underground Chinese Mafia operation led by Deng Hwang.

Blade destroys a local drug plant, rescues the Jake, and stops a plan to poison the Hollywood reservoir with MTZ. Hwang retaliates by kidnapping Karyn, and Blade infiltrates Hwang’s headquarters to save her.

Blade then confronts Hwang, who transforms into the dragon Bahumat. After defeating him, Blade rejects the mayor’s role in the operation and leaves, either with Karyn if she survives or alone.