Berta, a Honduran refugee, is held by a Los Angeles street gang that intends to violate her. Her brother Oscar and her half-brother Emilio overwhelm the house where she is kept and manage to free her, but Oscar is shot before they can escape. Emilio, who believes Oscar is dead, forces Berta to leave with him and delays the police as she flees.
Berta hides under the front porch of a nearby house owned by John Henry. John takes her in over the objections of his father BJ Henry, who translates her story. Although BJ mocks his son’s sentimentality, John offers to help her.
Emilio arrives at John's house, explaining that he was on the way to drop off his half-siblings at a shelter when Berta was kidnapped. Disgusted that Emilio plans to ditch his family, BJ becomes closer to Berta. Berta insists that they return to the gangsters' house to look for Oscar, but Emilio insists that Oscar is dead. After Emilio describes a tattoo, John realizes that the gangsters are part of a crew run by his cousin Hell.
Back in the 1990s, John quit the gang after realizing Hell's ambition would never end the cycle of violence. John contacts Hell, who gives Emilio and Berta 24 hours to leave the city.
Hell betrays them and sends assassins to kill everyone in the house, though they are instructed to leave John alive long enough that he can watch Hell execute Berta. BJ and Emilio both die protecting Berta, but Savage botches Hell's plans when she stops John from assaulting Hell. Enraged, Hell leaves John for dead and orders Savage to be killed. John reasons that Hell, who never leaves anyone alive at the scene of a crime, wants him to suffer further. John accidentally shot and maimed Hell when they were teenagers, and John now refuses to use pistols.
After recovering, John grabs a sledgehammer and leaves to rescue Berta, whom he believes Hell still plans to kill in front of him. John's grandmother initially refuses to give him Hell's address but finally acknowledges that Hell is beyond redemption. John kills several gangsters with his sledgehammer, interrupting Savage's execution and leaving Hell short on muscle. Hell grants Savage a reprieve and orders her to kill John. Although conflicted, she confronts John, who cripples her and leaves her alive.
The final confrontation between John and Hell draws a crowd. Taking advantage of this, Hell brings out Berta and Oscar, whose public executions he believes will demonstrate his dominance. Although the rest of the neighborhood is scared, a boy named Deydey defies Hell and assists John. Savage kills Hell's remaining bodyguard while John kills Hell, then collapses as Berta thanks him for rescuing her and Oscar.
