In early seventies Italy, the fearless police commissioner Cardone ( Enrico Maria Salerno ) is sent to restore law and order in a northern industrial town devastated by a recent wave of violence and kidnappings, after the former police commissioner resignated, being unable to stop kidnappers, as italian laws are shown as weak and more focused on preserving the victims' safety rather than catching the kidnappers. Cardone first show his strength by stopping a bank robbery, making them surrender and release the hostages at the same time. When a rich boy is kidnapped, he stops the family from paying the ransom, and when the boy's body is found, he is also capable of proving that the kidnappers would have killed the boy anyway. But when the kidnappers gang kidnaps his son, he has to decide whether to stick to his principles or follow his feelings. His decision will lead him to discover corruption at the highest levels of the police administration; and Cardone makes the hard decision to enforce the law, even if that means putting is his son, or other innocents, in danger.