Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when a gang led by sadistic crime boss Robert G. Durant obliterates his laboratory and leaves Westlake beaten, mutilated and left for dead. An experimental medical procedure saves his life, but Westlake is both physically and psychologically scarred by the event, unable to continue a normal life with his girlfriend. Westlake's only salvation, and his all-consuming purpose in life, becomes the successful pursuit of the synthetic skin formula. To finance his experiments, he takes on a shadowy, enigmatic identity--Darkman, a phantom figure who terrorizes and steals from criminals in the night. But it is only a matter of time before he eventually crosses paths with Durant, the one responsible for his suffering.