Vice Squad

A down-on-her-luck Los Angeles woman, Princess, walks Sunset Boulevard to support herself and her young daughter Lisa. She is preparing Lisa for a trip to visit her grandmother in San Diego, showing the precariousness of their daily life on the streets. This opening establishes the bleak street environment that frames the story.

Princess receives a desperate phone call from her coworker Ginger Grady, who is hiding in a motel from her abusive pimp. Ginger's voice is filled with fear as she pleads for help, signaling the danger closing in. The call foreshadows the violence to come.

Ramrod tracks Ginger down and tricks her into opening the door, then violently ties her to a bed and beats and rapes her with a pimp stick. The assault reveals the brutality Ginger faces and sets the motive for the ensuing pursuit. The attack leaves her injuries that will later become lethal.

Across town, Ginger dies from her injuries at the hospital, with Detective Tom Walsh present as her life slips away. Tom vows to bring Ramrod to justice and avenge Ginger’s death. His determination marks a shift from observation to active pursuit.

Tom Walsh informs Princess that she could receive a pardon in exchange for helping to catch Ramrod, warning that a cocaine possession charge could separate her from Lisa regardless of her innocence. Princess initially refuses when she learns who the target is. Tom reveals Ginger’s corpse to sway her decision.

Princess agrees to help and wears a wire to lure Ramrod into a trap. She leads him to a nightclub where his incriminating statements get him arrested by Tom's squad. Ramrod is caught off guard and realizes the jeopardy when the setup is revealed.

During the arrest, Ramrod is shocked to learn he killed Ginger and resists arrest, vowing to kill Princess. The confrontation marks the escalation from criminal pursuit to personal vendetta. Tom's intervention ends the immediate threat, at least temporarily.

On the way to the station, Ramrod disables officers, escapes, and steals a car from Roscoe before purchasing a gun from Fast Eddie. He also gathers information about Joe Dorsey, Princess's former pimp. The sequence shows Ramrod regaining mobility and arming himself.

Detectives Williams and Sorensen interrogate Roscoe to track Ramrod’s car while Princess reunites with colleagues at a sleazy dive bar. A patron propositions her and, after a tense exchange, she remains distant, underscoring her professional alienation and street cynicism. The nightlife setting contrasts with the police investigation.

Ramrod brutalizes Joe Dorsey during interrogation and castrates him, further proving his ruthlessness. He then heads toward Princess's motel, escalating the threat to her directly. The violent act heightens the sense that Princess is a target.

Ramrod kidnaps Coco and tortures her until she reveals that a chauffeur delivered Princess to a Beverly Hills residence. Princess is taken to a wealthy client's Beverly Hills home to perform for him, heightening the stakes of the pursuit. The sequence deepens the danger and moves toward the final confrontation.

Inside the Beverly Hills house, Princess is instructed to dress as a bride and descend to a parlor, but she screams when the elderly client suddenly awakens. Police find Coco by a trash heap and Ramrod seizes a newspaper-delivery truck while pursuing Princess. The chase intensifies as Ramrod closes in on his target.

Ramrod grabs Princess and drags her to an abandoned warehouse to torture her as police close in. Tom corners Ramrod in an alley, shoots him dead, and ends the immediate threat. The dawn light begins to creep into the city, signaling a grim resolution.

Tom emerges wounded from the warehouse as day breaks and Princess tells him that he will never be able to change the streets. He walks away into the sunrise, leaving the city to its grim realities. The final moment underscores the depth of the cycle of violence that frames the story.