Nine years after the events of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003), Max finds himself living a degenerative lifestyle, addicted to painkillers and alcohol in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, while trying to forget the past that haunts him. Employed by real estate mogul Rodrigo Branco, Max works in private security, protecting the wealthy Branco family. But as things go wrong and Rodrigo's wife Fabiana is kidnapped, Max is forced into a deadly new conflict, while relying on the abilities he attained from the experiences of the past he left behind.