Ghost Dog sees himself as a
retainer of Louie, a local mobster, who saved Ghost Dog's life years earlier. While living as a hitman for the
American Mafia, he adheres to the code of the
samurai, and interprets and applies the wisdom of the
Hagakure. Louie tells Ghost Dog to kill a gangster, Handsome Frank, who is sleeping with the daughter of local mafia boss Vargo. Ghost Dog arrives and kills the gangster, before seeing that the girl is also in the room; he leaves her alive, and she gives him a copy of the book
Rashōmon to read. To avoid being implicated in the murder of a
made man, Vargo and his associate Sonny Valerio decide to get rid of Ghost Dog. Louie knows practically nothing about Ghost Dog, as the hitman communicates only by
homing pigeon. The mobsters start by tracing all the pigeon coops in town. They find Ghost Dog's cabin atop a building and kill his pigeons. Ghost Dog realizes he must kill Vargo and his men or they will kill him and his master. During the day, Ghost Dog frequently visits the park to see his best friend, a French-speaking ice cream man named Raymond. Ghost Dog does not understand French and Raymond does not understand English but the two nonetheless seem to connect with each other. Ghost Dog also befriends a little girl named Pearline, to whom he lends the book
Rashōmon. Eventually, Ghost Dog invades Vargo's mansion and kills almost everyone single-handedly, sparing only Louie and Vargo's daughter. That night, Ghost Dog kills Sonny Valerio at his home by shooting him through a pipe. Ghost Dog expects that Louie will attack him, as he feels that Louie is obliged to avenge the murder of his boss Vargo. He goes to the park and gives Raymond all his money, helping him to stay in the country. Pearline appears and gives back
Rashōmon to Ghost Dog, saying that she liked it. Ghost Dog gives Pearline his copy of
Hagakure and encourages her to read it. Though Louie feels some loyalty to Ghost Dog, he finally confronts him at Raymond's ice cream stand with Raymond and Pearline watching. Ghost Dog is unwilling to attack his master and allows Louie to kill him. His last act is to give Louie the copy of
Rashōmon and encourage him to read it. Pearline takes Ghost Dog's empty gun and aims at Louie as he flees. Ghost Dog dies from his wounds, lying on the asphalt. Raymond weeps while Pearline watches Louie leave; Louie gets into a car with Vargo's daughter (who now has replaced her father as his boss). Later, Pearline reads the
Hagakure. ==Cast==