The third season of Revenge finds Emily (Emily VanCamp) on a hastened timeline for her revenge plan due to an ultimatum from Jack (Nick Wechsler), who has become privy to her true identity. As part of her plan, Emily gets engaged to Daniel (Josh Bowman) for a second time, and Victoria (Madeline Stowe) once again does all that she can to sabotage their upcoming nuptials. However, Victoria's plans are complicated by the arrival of Patrick (Justin Hartley), Victoria's other son whom she had left in the care of a nun in order to attend college.

After leaving his LAPD narcotics post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with remorse and regret, Sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Somerton Junction. But that peaceful existence is shattered when Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy. With the help of a fierce band of lawless mercenaries led by the icy Burrell (Peter Stormare), Cortez begins racing towards the US-Mexico border at 250 mph in a specially-outfitted Corvette ZR1 with a hostage in tow. Cortez path straight through Summerton Junction, where the whole of the U.S. law enforcement, including Agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) will have their final opportunity to intercept him before the violent fugitive slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately rallies his team and takes the matter into his own hands, setting the stage for a classic showdown.