In
Santa Catalina Island, California, professional hitman Golgo 13 is hired to assassinate Robert Dawson, the son of oil baron Leonard Dawson and the heir of Dawson Enterprises. He succeeds in doing so. A few days later, Golgo is hired to kill Dr. Z, a shadowy crime boss who rules over the
Sicilian mafia. After travelling to
Messina and infiltrating Dr. Z's organization and seducing his daughter Cindy, Golgo survives an ambush from Dr. Z's henchmen. He calls Cindy to tell her he figured out that she is actually Dr. Z, then later intercepts her at a beach and kills her. Golgo then escapes ambushes by U.S. Special Forces Lieutenant Bob Bragan and three
CIA operatives. One of Golgo's contacts, a clockmaker, is murdered by a genetically enhanced supersoldier named Snake. Aided by
the Pentagon, the
FBI, and the CIA, Leonard Dawson is seeking to kill Golgo and avenge his son's death. For his next job, Golgo is hired by a wealthy
Holocaust survivor in
San Francisco to kill an ex-Nazi official. With the aid of his ally Rita, a car mechanic, Golgo kills his target, but is ambushed during his getaway by Bragan and his men. Golgo kills them all, but before Bragan dies, he shoots and wounds Golgo. Snake then finds and murders Rita. Golgo later meets up with an informant named Pablo in
the Amazon, to find out who set up the hit on him before leaving for
Miami to rest and recuperate. Dawson, consumed by a desire for revenge, allows Snake to rape Robert's widow, Laura, as a means of securing the killer's cooperation. Dawson also sends his granddaughter Emily and his butler Albert to an airport to murder Golgo. In a meeting with U.S. intelligence officials, Dawson demands the release of Gold and Silver, two notorious assassins on Death Row who were part of a covert government operation in
Central America to test the survival rate of mercenaries in the summer of 1970; they were the only two out of 40 men to survive through the entire 80-day experiment. When the group refuses his request, Dawson threatens to halt all company operations, including oil refineries and banks. They reluctantly agree to his demands out of fear that the U.S. economy would collapse. When Laura demands to know why Dawson refuses to seek vengeance on whoever ordered the hit on Robert, he refuses to answer. Laura decides to leave Dawson, as well as Emily. Golgo makes his way to
New York City after recuperating in Miami with the aid of Pablo, the last of his contacts. Emily tries to shoot Golgo in the airport; the shot misses, and Golgo kills Albert as he reaches for a handgun. Pablo informs Golgo that Dawson ordered the hit and is currently holed up in his headquarters in Manhattan, Dawson Castle. Pablo reluctantly tells Golgo that his wife and children are being kept at ransom in the tower, then tries to shoot Golgo, who kills Pablo in self-defense. Golgo arrives at Dawson Castle and begins his ascent to the top floor on foot. He first plays a game of cat-and-mouse with a fleet of helicopter gunships sent to kill him. While on the move, Golgo is attacked by Snake, and a brutal knifefight occurs between the two in an elevator, during which Snake manages to stab Golgo, but an attack helicopter shoots at the elevator, and Snake is killed by friendly fire as Golgo hides by the edge unseen by the helicopter. As Golgo resumes his ascent, Gold and Silver ambush and assault him. After Gold reopens one of Golgo's prior stab wounds, Golgo bludgeons Gold on the head repeatedly with the butt of his revolver, then shoots him. Silver, now blinded by rage at his partner's death, rushes at Golgo, who quickly stuffs a live grenade in Silver's mouth, which explodes and kills him. Dawson admits failure and orders all action against Golgo to end. After Golgo enters the room, Dawson delivers a brief monologue, then attempts suicide by leaping out of the window. As he falls, Dawson remembers Robert's
suicide note: Despite receiving much care from his father throughout his lifetime, Robert believed he would never fulfill his father's ambitions, but since he was unable to commit suicide himself, Robert hired Golgo instead. Before Dawson hits the ground, Golgo shoots him in the head. Dawson lands headfirst, crushing his skull and erasing any evidence that he was shot; his death is ruled as "accidental" by the authorities. Some time later, Golgo encounters Laura, who has since become a
prostitute. Trying to get the attention of men as they pass her by, she recognizes Golgo. She eventually draws a pistol and aims it at him, but when she hesitates to fire, he turns his back to her and walks away. When Laura finally fires the gun, the shot rings out and the scene fades to black. Golgo ends up walking away into the night. ==Cast==