Bruce Wayne decides to take a long-deserved vacation to Fiji with his new girlfriend, Talia. Talia has made her peace with her unscrupulous father, Ra's al Ghul, and has disavowed her ties to her nefarious criminal organization known as Leviathan. Bruce is thrilled; he's fallen in love with her unusual personality and womanly charms, and the two head to Fiji with glee.
Meanwhile, something very strange is developing in Gotham City, and only Jim Gordon of the GCPD is available to handle this new situation. A group of serial bank robbers, dressed in red masks and calling themselves the Red Hood Gang, have not only successfully robbed three Gotham banks, but they've also taken one hostage (for ransom) from each bank. Jim Gordon starts tracking the Red Hood Gang and reads the bizarre statement they've sent to the Gotham Gazette --- i.e., "We are waiting for Jim Gordon (or the conspicuously unavailable Batman) to either pay the ransom for the hostages or collect their dead bodies, which we will mark with red paint on their foreheads." Gordon wonders to himself, "I don't get it! Is the Red Hood Gang planning to paint the hostages' foreheads with red paint when they deliver them once the ransom has been paid, or is the red paint the sign of their death and execution?"
The red paint mark on the hostages is a peculiar sign and ominous gesture. Gordon assesses that if the Red Hood Gang plans to deliver the hostages live with red paint on their foreheads, then they are luring Batman to their cat-and-mouse game; but if the Red Hood Gang delivers the hostages dead with red paint on their foreheads (if the ransom is unpaid in time), then they are luring Gordon himself to their cat-and-mouse game in an insulting gesture meant to signify the obvious absence of Batman. Gordon realizes that the press statement the Red Hood Gang may have been sent intentionally to confuse the GCPD, and he wonders if he should try to contact Batman.
Bruce Wayne and Talia are busy indulging in their romantic getaway, enjoying swimming, sun-bathing, fish-fry dinners, and intimate and private evenings together. Bruce proposes to Talia, and she accepts his proposal. Bruce wonders to himself, "If Talia and I get married, we'll have a son, and we'll named him...Damien!" Bruce is so happy with his vacation and time with Talia that he disconnects his phone so no one will bother them. Soon thereafter, Alfred tries to contact Bruce to tell him about the activities of the Red Hood Gang in Gotham City, but obviously, the phone has been disconnected. Talia wonders to herself, "How should I tell Bruce that I'm considering abandoning the final eco-terrorist mission my father's planned?"
Jim Gordon concludes that the Red Hood Gang is trying to lure him directly into the cat-and-mouse game and therefore intends to paint the hostages' foreheads with red paint once they are killed. Gordon realizes the Red Hood Gang has no interest in the ransom money whatsoever; he realizes he must find a way to thwart their evil plan to highlight the conspicuous absence of Batman.
The Red Hood Gang are in their hideaway. The leader has received his phone call from Jim Gordon on a stolen mobile phone. Gordon tells him, "Batman will meet you on the roof of the Gotham Library in two days (Saturday) at exactly 9 p.m. with the ransom money for the hostages." The Red Hood Gang prepares to meet Gordon on the library rooftop, unaware that the resourceful Gordon has already set a trap to undo their scheme.
It is Saturday and 9 p.m. approaches. The Red Hood Gang skulk their way to the Gotham Library rooftop and arrive at 8:58 p.m. with the hostages and find a man in a bat-suit waiting for them. As the leader approaches what seems to be Batman, he asks him, "How come you disappeared, Batman?" The leader tells the man, "Look, we have a message for you. Talia intends to betray Bruce Wayne and steal valuable assets from Wayne Industries for her father Ra's al Ghul who is planning to use the money to fund an elaborate eco-terrorism scheme at the Gotham Zoo. We wanted to tell you, because we have a grudge with Ra's al Gul. We found out from a member of the League of Assassins we kidnapped. This will be our little secret. So, will you help us...Batman?" The man replies, "Just let the hostages go. I'll take care of Talia and her father; and I'll deliver the message to Bruce Wayne." The Red Hood Gang hands over the hostages and disappears.
Jim Gordon is back at his office. It was he who dressed up as Batman to trap the Red Hood Gang. Now he wonders how to get in touch with Batman (or Bruce Wayne) to intercept Ra's al Ghul's scheme. He also wonders how the GCPD (and Batman) should handle this tip from the Red Hood Gang (concerning Talia).
Back at the Red Hood Gang hideaway, the leader smirks about how their plan has more or less worked out. One gang member asks the leader, "How do you think the press will handle the fact that we tipped off Ra's al Ghul?" The leader eerily replies, "It doesn't matter. We'll kill Talia al Ghul and make it look like her father did it in anger."
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