The game follows 18-year-old TK, coincidentally referred to as "The Kid", who works as a getaway driver for a New York crime ring in 1978. His childhood friend Ray introduces him to Slink, whom he does low-level work for. He is then introduced to two other prominent gangsters, "The Mexican" and Bishop. Bishop hatches a plan to break an associate, Candy, out of Rikers Island Prison, which TK successfully carries out.
The gangsters form a collective, composed of TK, Slink, Bishop, The Mexican and Candy and led by a corrupt undercover detective, Corrigan. Corrigan's organization wishes to start distributing cocaine in New York City, but a prominent Colombian drug lord Rafael Martinez already has a foothold, so Corrigan plans to have Martinez kidnapped. After Martinez's kidnap and receipt of his ransom money, Corrigan changes the plan and shoots Martinez dead. Figuring that TK is insignificant, Corrigan shoots him at the same time and leaves him to be framed and charged with kidnap and murder. TK is sentenced to 28 years at Sing-Sing.
While at Sing-Sing, TK plans vengeance upon each of the men who betrayed him. He is released in 2006 aged 46 and, with Ray's help, immediately tracks down and kills The Mexican, now a lowly alcoholic hoodrat who works at an arcade. His corpse is thrown out onto the street from TK's car, in front of Corrigan, now the Commissioner of the fictitious "City Police", who immediately recognizes him. Afterwards, he meets Maria, an ally of Candy, who is now a wealthy and prominent gangster. TK does jobs for Maria in the hope of reaching him.
After destroying Slink's pornography and drugs outlets, TK kills Slink in a car-chase. For Bishop, who is now a drugs kingpin, TK disrupts his smuggling operation. Bishop phones TK and offers him a chance to duel one-on-one, but turns up in an army tank armed with explosives. TK succeeds in blowing up the tank and killing Bishop. While on a job for Maria, TK finally gets to meet Candy, but he is quickly apprehended by Candy's henchmen and drugged. TK manages to break free however and kills Candy in a car-chase.
Corrigan then turns up at Ray's garage in Hunt's Point. He reveals that Ray has been working for him, to help TK inadvertently erase all of Corrigan's connections to the 1978 kidnapping, in exchange for money. Corrigan kills Ray then tries to shoot TK, but is saved by Maria who turns up armed. Corrigan escapes and Maria reveals she is actually the daughter of Rafael Martinez, the man Corrigan killed in 1978.
They put a Cop Car with Candy's body in his parking space, blow up his office, Put Slink's body in the trunk of his limo and kill his body guards (Who tried to kill TK before, once with a car bomb in front of Ray's, another with an ambush at the start of Ram Raider. Another ambush for a job with Maria, and when TK tried to escape with Bishop's shipment of rocket launchers.) Maria tells TK that Corrigan is in Witness Protection. TK kills more bodyguards but Corrigan escapes by helicopter. After blowing up a tunnel with TK in it he shoots down the chopper. Corrigan survives, but after a while he gives Corrigan to Maria, who wants more revenge than TK.