Five years after his family was murdered in a mob hit, police officer Frank Castle, who was believed dead, has become a vigilante known as "The Punisher". Living in the sewers and waging a one-man war against organized crime, his only friend is an old alcoholic named Shake. Meanwhile, the Mafia, headed by Gianni Franco, begins a violent turf war with the Yakuza, led by Lady Tanaka. The Yakuza kidnaps the Mafia's children and holds them for ransom in order to bring the American underworld under their control.