Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) drives the streets of L.A. as if he owns them. As far as his crew is concerned, he does. He spends his days putting wrench-time into high performance racing cars - make and model matter less than the computer-controlled fuel injection that makes them fly. Nights, Dom pilots his own earth-bound rocket, pocketing as much as $10,000 a ride when somebody has the nerve to race him.
The races are street theater, tribal gathering and battlefield, fuelled by adrenaline, sexual tension and raw, out-of-control speed. Throngs pack otherwise desolate streets to cheer and to jeer and to belong.

Dominic struts through this high-octane outlaw scene like a rock star, presiding over the hungry roar of engines, all set to test the limits.

Brian (Paul Walker) is hooked, hungry and ready to test the limits, too. He prides himself on street smarts, but to this crowd he's white bread. He seeks Dominic's approval behind the wheel of his own NOS-injected muscle machine. After a blazing encounter with ruthless Johnny Tran (Rick Yune), Dominic decides Brian is all right. Dominic's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) likes what she sees, too. The thing is, they don't know he's a cop.

Brian is under deep cover, investigating a series of sensational big-rig hijackings. The police and FBI need it to stop before the truckers take matters into their own hands. Cash flows freely through the street-racing scene and the cops know some of that money is dirty. Dominic and Johnny are both suspects.

As the rivalry between Dominic's and Johnny Tran's crews escalates to ever more dangerous levels, Brian's bonds with Dom and Mia deepen. He feels a genuine kinship with Dominic, and the attraction between him and Mia is too strong to deny. But he's still a cop and as the pressure to wrap up the hijacking case intensifies, Brian must decide where his loyalties lie and what his limits really are.