Detectives August Brooks and Chase McDonald meet when August and several officers are being overwhelmed by criminals in an explosive shootout. Chase arrives in his Porche and immediately neautralizes the situation with a grenade launcher. Moments later, August discovers that Chase is his new partner, and they are immediately assigned the case to track down James Harley - nicknamed the Daybomber - who has set off a series of explosions in his quest to warn people of the advances of technology.

Chase and August are at August's gym, where they are volunteering their time to help keep kids off the street and out of gangs. In the boxing ring is Andre, a young fighter determined to stay away from gang violence. But when word comes in that Andre's brother has been shot and killed by a rival gang, Andre swears to avenge his brother's death. Chase and August try to persuade him to let the police handle it, but Andre slips from their grasp in pursuit of the killer.

Chase and August are escorting an annoying accountant named Cecil Rusk - the star witness for the prosecution in mobster Marius Roma's tax evasion trial - to court when they are ambushed by Roma's brother and his thugs. After their car is destroyed, the trio escape on foot through a hail of gunfire. Alone on the streets of Los Angeles, they decide to head out of town, where they believe they'll be safe.

Ariel, a prostitute, is found dead. Nearby, a beautiful young hooker named Electra wanders the streets in a daze. Narrowly escaping Uzi-toting hitmen, she is taken into custody by Chase and August. Electra has amnesia and cannot remember what happened the night of Ariel's murder. Eager to crack the case, Chase and August are relieved of their investigation by Captain Jensen after orders from the mayor's office. Chase, convinced there is a cover-up in progress, refuses to drop the case.

When a group of criminals rob a computer chip assembly plant, Chase and August link the six million dollar heist to a local computer store. Posing as computer industry executives, the detectives visit the store and stage a robbery, pretending to save the day. Winning the confidence of the store's owner, Ray Bernard, they begin to work their way into his gang.

Playing host to a Cops-like television shot, Chase and August are out to catch the gangbangers responsible for a string of 211s around the city. The two-person TV crew tags along while the detectives tackle a 211 in progress and apprehend a couple of suspects. When Chase saves a store owner's 12-year-old boy just before a grenade erupts and the producer of the show says he plans to make Chase "a star," August fears his partner's desire to be a movie star will slow their investigation.