When co-founder of a San Francisco newspaper THE DAILY SENTINEL, JOHN PAUL, is shot in his home, FRANK SCANLON, district attorney, considers John's position as a crime and politics reporter and rules out robbery as a motive. BRITT REID, publisher for the Sentinel, promises his father, DAN, who'd co-founded The Sentinel with John, that he won't rest until he finds out who did this.

At the paper, John's former position as executive TV producer is taken over by REX, a shameless opportunist, who exhibits not one trace of remorse for the company's recent loss. In fact, the first meeting he holds in his new office is with a goon named TOMMY, who inquires about what Rex plans to do with his newfound corporate capital. When Rex suggests that he's thinking of bowing out with his cut after an illicit job they've just completed, Tommy won't allow it and tells Rex that the crew needs something of him--the ability to communicate anywhere, in real-time, without being detected via discreet usage of his TV station for two weeks--if anyone can manipulate info, it's newsmen, he says. With the right people in key positions within The Sentinel, he concludes, anything is possible. He promptly gives Rex a short list of people to fire.

In the forensics lab, a print is lifted from inside John's condo--its match is Mr. YAO XCHAN, a known Chinese national drug smuggler with gang connections, most recently known for his attempt to smuggle over a quarter ton of dope into San Francisco via commercial shipping. Frank calls Britt with his address, and Britt and Kato promptly change outfits--Kato, into hat and mask, with gloved hands, and Britt into a green suit, clad as the GREEN HORNET. They both hop in his car, the BLACK BEAUTY, type in the address, key in commands, and send a metallic black bee that rises from a small door on the car's hood to fly off under their control and give them closer views of their destination. After it locates Xchan, they break into his apartment and Hornet questions him about his whereabouts during the shooting three days ago, but he doesn't answer--he finally admits that he had pulled the trigger himself. He'd been paid by someone, but just before his eyes glaze over and he passes out, all he can utter of the name is, "Choo... choo..."

In Britt's office, the following day, one of the TV news engineers, BILL, complains that Rex is firing all the good guys and bringing in a bunch of new guys he's never even heard of. Britt question Rex about where these new people are from, and he vaguely responds that they're the cream of the crop, from all over the country. Britt says he'll be watching--but in the meantime, no more personnel changes.

MIKE, a reporter, tells Britt about the Hornet being out last night, and victimizing a suspect in John's murder--after the cops took the suspect to jail, his million dollar bail had been posted by a woman named SUE ANN LEE. Britt tells him to get the story out as soon as possible.

On the evening of the Sentinel's 30th anniversary party, Rex officially introduces Britt to his new TV crew--RAY JORDAN, BRUCE KONIG, TIM SMITH, TOMMY CHEW--and Sue Ann Lee. Not only does Britt recognize that name as that of the woman who'd bailed out Xchan, but he recognizes the name "Chew," from the sounds that Xchan had uttered before passing out. He tells Kato about it and they conclude something must be going on, and they need to find out what as soon as possible. He tells Kato to get a pen...and leave it on the group's table.

When they download the pen's data later, they hear two voices engaging in a choppy discussion about all their distributors being in place, about dope inside trucks, about a fake game, a great idea, airwaves, and only one thing to worry about--Bill, the nosy engineer and Britt, if he finds out. They decide they'll take care of Bill tonight. Upon hearing this, Britt and Kato decide to suit up and follow Bill home from the party. Once Bill gets to his garage, three men hop out of an SUV that's been trailing him, drag him out of his car and start beating him, until the Green Hornet appears with a three foot bat and invites himself to "play." He and Kato beat the thugs so badly that they must scramble away with the little that is left of their dignity. The Green Hornet bugs their car before they flee, then calls an ambulance for Bill, before speeding away himself.

They track the thugs down and meet them at a cannery, where Tommy scolds his goons for blowing it--Bill's still in the picture.

The next morning, Frank calls Britt demanding to know what he/Green Hornet and Kato are doing--now everyone thinks that the Green Hornet beat up Bill. On top of that, they're responsible for a shooting on the freeway and an explosion by the docks--both of which are all over the papers. Frank says they must be getting close to something and he knows it has something to do with Xchan, but they need to bring him in now, or he's going to split the country.

Later, at home, Britt pulls up the TV station's new numbers challenge game on his computer and studies it. He asks Rex about it the next day at work, and he tells him it's a new TV game they developed to air during news breaks starting tonight. The winner gets a cash prize, and it'll be good for the sponsors as well as for the station. Rex's responses convince Britt that it all seems legit. He asks why all his new hires have been sporting injuries around the office since the weekend. Rex claims that he heard they'd had a little football game this weekend.

Mike comes to see Britt about the piece in the paper on the explosions down by the docks the other night--he thinks there's more to it than just chemicals catching fire in a dumpster. He'd done some snooping around and found out about more activity that night--a truck involved in a chase, and he'd seen it himself, behind a building, completely wrecked and burned out. He heard there was a break in, but most of the guys around the cannery didn't want to talk about it at all, and he doesn't think the police report even scratched the surface. Britt suggests that they just let the cops pursue this one. Still, Mike insists there could be a much bigger story there, but Britt insists he can't put his reporters in danger. When Mike says the Black Beauty was also seen in the area that night, Britt dismisses it as a joke.

Later, at home, Britt watches the debut of the Super Secret Numbers Challenge, and compares it with information he'd retrieved from the docks the night he and Kato had gone snooping around. He deciphers that some of the numbers refer to an address, others correspond with the day's date, and the next numbers could represent military time. From that he gathers: Clay St. and Taylor, ten o'clock tonight. He and Kato suit up and drive there, to catch a group of men in a truck full of mysterious boxes containing heroin inside ornate vases. Britt calls Frank and tells him to send someone downtown to Clay and Taylor. Later, Frank congratulates him on a job well done--except for the bodies he'd left him, cuffed and executed. But Britt swears they had all been alive when he left.

In the office, CASEY, Britt's secretary, overhears a conversation in the TV editing room between Tommy and Rex--one speaker orders that if anyone sees the Green Hornet, they're to shoot him and his driver on sight. When they spot her near the door, Casey tries to play off any possibility that she's heard them, but they seem to be on to her eavesdropping.

Immediately she calls Britt and tells him she wants to discuss something, but not over the phone. On her way to "lunch" however, a large man snatches her from behind and tosses her into the backseat of a black BMW, between Xchan and another man, who smothers her with a cloth to her face until she passes out.

LISA, Casey's friend, who's witnessed it all, calls Kato to report this to him.

Casey's kidnappers take her to a rental room and lock her inside until they're done with a "project" they're working on.

The Green Hornet and Kato track down Rex and take him to a remote park to interrogate him about Casey's whereabouts. He finally admits that Tommy has her at his place, and gives them the address. They find the rental room, beat up the goons that are guarding it, and rescue Casey.

Though Casey's supposed to be "missing," she and Britt go out to dinner, and she spots one of the kidnappers while they're out. She demands that Britt kiss her, to protect her cover. They trail the kidnappers in his car and watch behind tinted windows as they and other workers load more boxes into another truck. They both recognize Tommy, as well as Xchan among them and try to figure out what's going on. Britt calls Kato to meet him in thirty minutes.

The Green Hornet and Kato invade the operation on the docks and Rex flees and calls CC to tell her he needs to talk to her. They'll go out for a nightcap.

He meets her at the Global Marketing office and asks where she'd like to spend the rest of her life--tonight. She names the Bahamas, and he whips out two cases full of money. As she asks where he'd gotten so much money from, someone fires at the door. Rex asks if she'd told anyone he was there, and she names Tommy. He panics and tells her they have to split, but she says she wants nothing to do with this. But he tells her it's too late--Tommy will kill them both. When Tommy and his thugs burst inside, Rex reasons that at least the cops should be there in a minute; but CC tells him she'd turned off the alarm because she thought they were leaving. Just as Tommy turns the gun on Rex and CC, the Green Hornet and Kato burst in and corner him in the office. They leave them all immobilized inside and outside of the building for the cops to retrieve.