After killing a man in a drunk driving accident, a young woman is sent to a prison where both the inmates and the corrupt leadership are violent and abusive.

During the 1970s, U.S. Special Agent Cleopatra Jones proves to be an invaluable asset to the local police forces in the war on drugs.

When fellow operatives (and childhood friends) Matthew Johnson and Melvin Johnson disappear during an undercover mission in Hong Kong, Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) travels there to find them. With the help of local detective Mi Ling, Cleopatra discovers that her friends' disappearance has to do with The Dragon Lady, a much-feared blonde "lipstick lesbian" who runs a Macao casino and controls a major chunk of the local drug trade

With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than a complete record. It features interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars, like Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, and Richard Roundtree. Director Melvin Van Peebles discusses the historical importance of his landmark film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. For a contemporary perspective, the excitable Quentin Tarantino offers his spirited commentary and author/critic bell hooks provides some scholarly social analysis.