San Diego Police Detective Michael Dooley leaves his car to contact his girlfriend, Tracy, when a helicopter suddenly appears and opens fire on his car, which ignites. Presuming him dead, the assassins leave the scene. At the police station, Dooley argues with his lieutenant, refusing to take a partner; instead, he decides to get a police dog. At home, he finds Tracy with another man and spends the night in his new car. The next day, Dooley coerces Freddie, an informant, into revealing that the drug lord Ken Lyman is responsible for the attack. Dooley is assigned a German Shepherd named Jerry Lee,<ref name="LATimes"/> whom he dislikes.