The Hit

London gangster Willie Parker testifies against his criminal compatriots in exchange for police protection. As he leaves the witness box, the defendants threaten him by singing Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again. His testimony helps secure their conviction and marks the end of his active involvement in the crime world.

Ten years pass and Parker lives in comfortable retirement in Spain, enjoying a peaceful routine away from his former life of crime. He has largely escaped his past reputation and adjusted to a quieter, safer existence. The shadow of death is something he treats as a distant possibility.

Four Spanish youths kidnap Parker and hand him over to Braddock and his apprentice Myron, hoping to cash in on his witness protection gambit. The kidnapping thrusts Parker back into a deadly world he thought he had left behind. The youths’ crime escalates the tension and danger surrounding Parker.

The group travels to Madrid and enters an apartment where the owner is away. There they encounter Harry, an Australian, and Maggie, a young Spanish girlfriend who speaks little English. Parker reveals his identity to them, prompting Braddock to keep Maggie as insurance and, after doubting Harry’s silence, Braddock kills Harry.

The party heads toward the French border with the intention of reaching Paris, where the crime boss supposedly awaits. Parker begins to sow seeds of discord between Braddock and Myron, subtly manipulating their partnership. The journey tightens the tension as paranoia grows.

Spanish police, led by a senior inspector, begin following the trail of bodies. At a roadside bar, Myron lashes out at four youths who laugh at him, revealing his volatile temperament and the depth of his attachment to Maggie. The police close in as the group moves closer to danger.

Braddock faces Maggie in a tense confrontation when she reveals she understands English. She bites his hand, drawing blood, an act that underscores her resilience and willingness to resist his control. The moment heightens the personal danger within the pursuit.

Braddock takes Maggie to fetch petrol, leaving Myron with Parker. Maggie tries to alert a station attendant, forcing Braddock to kill the young attendant. Braddock chases Maggie but cannot bring himself to shoot her, and they return to find Myron asleep and Parker missing.

The next day, Braddock stops the car on an isolated hillside ten miles from the border and announces that he has scrapped the plan to reach Paris. He disarms Myron and confronts Parker, who insists he cannot die until he reaches Paris, setting up a final, fatal confrontation.

Braddock shoots Parker in the back to prevent him from reaching Paris, then turns the gun on Myron and kills him. Maggie wrestles Braddock, knocks him unconscious, and Braddock leaves Maggie alive as he flees. The brutal end to their chase marks a turning point in the pursuit of Parker.

The police find Maggie and the two bodies and begin a pursuit. Maggie identifies Braddock to the authorities, enabling them to track him down as he tries to cross the border on foot. The confrontation with law enforcement intensifies the final chase.

As Braddock attempts to escape, the police shoot him, and the dying killer winks at Maggie in a final defiant gesture. Maggie survives the ordeal, ending the brutal sequence of murders. The film closes on the grim cost of their violent world.