The year is 1949. A young Texan named John Grady finds himself without a home after his mother sells the ranch where he has spent his entire life. Lured south of the border by the romance of cowboy life and the promise of a fresh start, Cole and his pal embark on an adventure that will test their resilience, define their maturity, and change their lives forever.

A lawyer's family is murdered by drug smugglers, and he is beaten and left for dead, but survives although in a coma. When he awakes he only has a partial memory of what happened. In order to find out the real story, he trains with a karate master and becomes a mysterious avenger known as "The Karate Man".