Paul Kersey is a successful, middle-aged architect and family man who enjoys a happy home in Manhattan with his wife Joanna. One day, Joanna and their grown daughter Carol -- who is married to Jack Toby -- are followed home from D'Agostino's by three thugs. The trio invade the Kersey apartment by posing as deliverymen. Upon finding that Carol and Joanna only have $7 on them, the thugs brutally rape Carol and Joanna before fleeing. Upon arriving at the hospital, Paul is devastated to learn that Joanna has died from her injuries. Shortly after burying his wife, Paul has an encounter with a mugger in a darkened street. Paul fights back with a homemade weapon, an improvised blackjack made from a sock with two rolls of quarters in it, causing the mugger to run away. Paul is shaken and energized by the encounter.