On Devil's Night in Detroit, police Sergeant Albrecht surveys a crime scene. A young woman named Shelly Webster has been raped and gravely wounded. Her fiancé, rock musician Eric Draven, was killed in the attack, having been stabbed, shot and then thrown from the window of their loft apartment. As he leaves for the hospital with Shelly, Albrecht meets a young girl, Sarah, whom Shelly and Eric look after. Albrecht comforts Sarah when she realizes that Shelly is going to die from her injuries. One year later, Sarah visits Shelly and Eric's graves before meeting with Albrecht, who now helps take care of her. A crow lands on Eric's gravestone and taps on it, resurrecting him. Upon returning to his now-derelict apartment, Eric experiences flashbacks of his murder, when a gang (T-Bird, Tin Tin, Funboy and Skank) broke in and attacked him and Shelly due to them protesting forced evictions at their apartment building. Eric also discovers that any wounds he receives heal immediately. Guided by the crow, with whom he shares a telepathic connection, Eric sets out to avenge his and Shelly's murders.
