On the dangerous streets of New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, defense attorney Matt Murdock and his partner take the case of a young woman accused of brutally stabbing her co-worker. But by night, Murdock protects the innocent as a masked vigilante.
After coming up on the losing end of a fight Matt is rescued by Claire, a doctor who nurses him back to health only to find herself in the middle of a war with Russian child traffickers. In the past, a young Matt learns what sort of fighter his father really is.
A major conglomerate hires Matt and Foggy to represent a hitman who killed someone in a bowling alley, and who seems intent on getting himself convicted. Meanwhile, a struggling newspaper reporter is convinced he has a line on a major criminal story.
Two Russian brothers working for Wilson Fisk try to get to Claire in order to find the man in the mask who is causing their operation so much trouble. Karen tries to investigate her former company on her own after being rebuffed by a reporter, and Fisk goes on a first date.
Mr. Wesley frames the masked vigilante for the murder of one of the Ranskahovs, giving his brother Vladimir a thirst for vengeance. Foggy and Karen work a new case representing an elderly woman being forced out of her home, and Matt witnesses police corruption at its most horrific.
With Matt trapped in an abandoned building with an injured Vladimir and surrounded by police, Fisk turns the media's attention to the scene to put even more pressure on the vigilante.
Matt is reunited with a man from his past, who as a child helped him learn to use his gifts. Now he has come to Hell's Kitchen, enlisting Matt's help with a targeted strike against the Japanese mafia.
Fisk makes a personal effort to tie up a loose end when Detective Blake regains consciousness. Matt reaches out to reporter Ben Urich, and Wilson reveals the horrifying secret of his childhood.
Matt and his friends have difficulty pinning anything to Fisk after he deliberately puts himself in the spotlight. Meanwhile Fisk sets a Yakuza assassin on the trail of the vigilante, and the hero and the villain of Hell's Kitchen meet face-to-face for the first time.
Shocked by the discovery of Matt's secret life, Foggy questions everything he thought he knew about his friend. Ben faces a difficult choice when his ailing wife takes a turn for the worse, and Fisk's partners question him concerning his recent actions.
Matt considers what it would mean to continue his quest if it means pushing away his closest friends, while Wesley helps a despondent Fisk keep his world together. Karen finds Foggy drowning his sorrows, and Matt finds a man who makes lightweight armor.
Karen is unsure where to turn after her encounter with Wesley, and Fisk tries to decipher what happened to his friend. Matt pursues a new lead on Fisk's possible involvement in the illicit drug trade, leading him into the heart of Madame Gao's operation.
Fisk regroups after recent losses, only to discover another one of his allies working against him. Matt and Foggy bury the hatchet, and the race is on to find the one man in the city who can put Fisk away.
