One night in 1982 at Reno, Nevada, a police officer named Michael Arthur Long was investigating on a case with industrial spies. They had been raiding a casino and stealing information. His partner was killed after being caught following them. A woman named Tanya Walker was helping Michael track them down. She knew where they were meeting and planning to make their run. So he drove his black Pontiac Trans-Am over to the spot. He found them ready to get away, but stopped them and was about to make his bust. Just then, Tanya pulls out a gun and has it aimed at Michael. She tells him that she is really one of them. That is how she knew about them and what all they were doing. So Michael is forced to surrender and ends up letting the criminals go. Tanya pulls the trigger and shoots Michael right in the head. He falls on the ground right next to his car. After that, Tanya and her crew escape thinking they have gotten away with their scam. Luckily, a helicopter shows up out of nowhere spotting Michael and his black car. A dying millionaire named Wilton Knight decides to have both Michael and his car transported to his mansion. Doctors have been hired to restore Michael back to good condition. He is lying on a bed hooked up to breathing machines with a bandage wrapped around his entire head. He had served in Vietnam several years before. While over there, Michael suffered a head injury and a tin plate had been inserted there. Because of that, it kept the bullet from going directly into his brain. So instead of dying, he just fell into a coma. But the shot had ruined his face. So the doctors had to perform plastic surgery on him. They removed the bandage after he finally woke up. He wondered where he was and how he got there. Wilton had Michael look in a mirror to see that he had a brand new face. That was so no one could recognize him. Since everyone thought he was dead, Wilton told him he could no longer go by his own name. Michael is angry and wants revenge on Tanya for doing this to him. He no longer could live the life he had. Wilton has engineers working on a special project in a garage at the mansion. Michael wonders what it is and sneaks in there one day. He finds his black Pontiac Trans-Am in there. But it is not what it used to be. All the regular car stuff had been removed and new computer technology was installed. A man named Devon Miles showed up to explain how it works. He is the one who will be left in charge to run the Knight Foundation after Wilton dies. Devon tells Michael his car has been rebuilt so that it can actually think and do what no other car can. He demonstrates that is indestructible and cannot be damaged. Wilton is right about to die and lying on his death bed. He begins explaining to Michael that he has a lifelong dream of ridding the world of crime. He thinks since Michael used to be a cop, he would be the perfect man for the job. With all his years of police training, Michael could make an excellent agent. So Wilton has Michael promise him that he will plan to battle evil and protect the innocent. His last words are "One man can make a difference." Now that Wilton is no longer living, Michael decides he will keep his promise by getting started on the missions. His first one will be to settle a personal tragedy. He will find Tanya Walker and stop the people she let get away. Devon instructs him that he will be using the newly built car as a partner. It is called the Knight 2000. Michael decides to just call it KITT for short. Before he goes, Devon shows him a paper revealing his new name. He is now Michael Knight. Devon says Michael Long is dead and had a different face. So Michael has been renamed in honor of the millionaire for saving his life at the last minute. Michael gets in the black car and drives off to seek revenge. There are secrets about the car Michael is still not aware of. He finds out it can actually talk back to its driver. A voice box had been installed which is linked to the superior computers. Michael accidentally falls asleep at the wheel while driving, then wakes up also finding out it can run when no one is driving it. KITT happens to have a mind of its own. After going through a derby race, carjackers attempting to rip KITT off, and even having to break out of jail, Michael finally tracks down Tanya. He sneaks into the facility her crew works at. She finds him sneaking around and has no idea who he is. He tells her everything he knows like who she is and what she had done to him. Then Tanya realizes this is the same guy she shot and left to die. So she figures out Michael Long is still alive and been given a new face. Michael gets shot since security guards happen to show up before he could make his move on her. She escapes and has her crew leave for a runaway. They are planning to escape from the country on a private jet. Michael manages to get past the guards despite the fact he is wounded. KITT takes him to the runaway. As they show up, the plane is getting ready to take off. KITT quickly goes over to it and breaks off a wing. The car was able to do that due to its invincibility. The crew ends up jumping out and finds they are now stranded where they are. Tanya is angry and goes over to KITT. She sees Michael sitting inside holding his wound where he got shot. She aims her gun at him and fires. Once again due to KITT's invincibility, the bullet bounces off the car window and goes into Tanya's face. She falls to the ground and is now dead. Michael has finally had his revenge. The rest of the crew is arrested by the police. Michael began his new job by finishing his old job. This is where he realizes his old life is over and that it is time for him to begin his new life. Devon congratulates Michael for being successful on his first mission. He will begin doing more for the Knight Foundation. Michael and KITT ride together for the next four years. They have several major encounters. But they always win in the end. At the end of all their adventures, Michael drives KITT down the road with the last words of Wilton Knight in his head- "One man can make a difference Michael!" He is Michael Knight, a man who does not exist. No one knows about him except for those who work for the Foundation of Law and Government.