January 1954. Honolulu. Chinatown.
Honolulu Police Department Homicide Detective Sergeant Francis “The Sheik” Yoshikawa finds himself a reluctant stand-in bagman, extracting protection money from gambling and brothel racketeers. When a routine collection run turns into a bloody nightmare, Sheik loses a material witness but gains back his true purpose. As he navigates his way through the dens of iniquity and the body count rises, he is caught in the crosshairs of organized crime and disorganized law, between his extortionist police patrons and a special investigation bent on rooting out corruption in the department. A reckoning is due, and this time Sheik feels the squeeze.