Rutger Hauer plays Nick Parker, an American soldier who is blinded while serving in the Vietnam War. Parker is blinded by a mortar explosion, but is soon after rescued by local villagers, who help him recover his health (though he remains blind). As part of his recovery, he is taught to be an expert swordsman by the local master. Years later, having returned to the United States, he visits old army-buddy Frank Deveraux (Terry O'Quinn), only to find that Deveraux is missing. Parker then rescues Frank's son Billy (Brandon Call) from an attack in which Billy's mother (Meg Foster) is shot and killed by the henchmen of Frank's evil boss, MaCready (Noble Willingham). These men apparently want to kidnap Billy in order to use him as leverage over Frank. Parker and Billy, chased by MaCready's men and lead villain (Randall "Tex" Cobb), make their way to Reno, Nevada, where Deveraux is being forced to make designer drugs, which MaCready plans to sell at his casino. Along the way, the two grow fond of each other after a rough start, and numerous attacks by the bad guys are foiled by Nick and his skills. Impressed by Parker's martial-arts skill, MaCready hires a Master Ninja (Sho Kosugi) to defeat Parker once and for all. This leads to an epic sword-fight between the two in MaCready's penthouse, in which Nick eventually wins by submerging the room into darkness so that he has the advantage. With MaCready and his men dead, Billy is reunited with his father. A tearful Frank confesses to Parker that he has long blamed himself for the accident in Vietnam, and Frank is now able to forgive himself. Although now considered "Uncle Nick" to the young Billy, Parker leaves Frank and Billy to travel on his own.
