"Saints Row" opens in 2006, as Stilwater suffers from gang warfare at the hands of three distinct criminal syndicates: the Vice Kings, an African American gang that primarily earns revenue from strip clubs and record labels; Los Carnales, a Hispanic drug cartel that dominates the narcotics trade and gun-running; and the Westside Rollerz, who operate on the lucrative underground racing club. The player character, a random bystander, becomes caught in a crossfire between the three while walking through the streets of the Saint's Row district but is saved by Troy Bradshaw (Michael Rapaport), a member of a smaller gang called the 3rd Street Saints. Owing to the increasing violence, Saints leader Julius Little (Keith David) initiates the player into the gang and has them reclaim Saint's Row from their rivals, before assigning them to work under his top lieutenants, Dexter "Dex" Jackson (JAQ), Johnny Gat (Daniel Dae Kim), and Lin (Tia Carrere), in wiping out each rival gang.