Modern-day NYPD Detective Sam Tyler finds himself suddenly hurtled back to the tumultuous times of New York City in 1973 when he's hit by a car while chasing down a criminal.

Racial tensions run high when a young black girl is killed and a race begins between the cops and the BLA to find the supposed killer. Sam teams up with Fletcher Bellow, a young detective in 1971, who is his captain in 2008.