On October 30, Mischief Night in Detroit, Sergeant Albrecht is at the scene of a crime where Shelly Webster has been beaten and raped, and her fiancé Eric Draven then died on the street outside, having been stabbed, shot, and thrown out of the window. The couple were to be married the following day, on Halloween. As he leaves for the hospital with Shelly, Albrecht meets a young girl, Sarah, who says that she is their friend, and that they take care of her. Albrecht tells her that Shelly is dying.
In Los Angeles, mechanic Ashe Corven and his eight-year-old son Danny are murdered by notorious drug kingpin Judah Earl after they witness a gang of Judah's henchmen murdering a fellow drug dealer. The two are then dumped into a harbor.
James "Jimmy" Cuervo, paroled after serving a prison sentence for killing a rape in a fight, lives with his dog in a mobile home in Lake Ravasu on the Raven Aztec Indian reservation. Jimmy plans to start a new life with his girlfriend, Lily, and leave the town for good. Lily's father, pastor Harold, and brother, local cop Tanner, both despise Jimmy, however.