Drug abuse and drug peddling have become the bane of today's society. An entire generation is being held captive by this evil and governments everywhere are trying to curb this menace. 'Jalwa' is the story of a lone man’s fight against this menace. Kapil (Naseeruddin Shah) is a police inspector who goes beyond the call of his duty to smash the head of this evil. Kapil receives information about dealers of brown sugar from his Goan friend Albert Pinto. Soon, however, Pinto is killed by the drug mafia. Kapil rushes to Goa to investigate Pinto’s death. Here, he gets acquainted with more people in the same business. He also meets Jyoti (Archna Pooran Singh), a club dancer who becomes his lady love. Will a little help from Jyoti and the Goa police, Kapil is able to expose the magnitude of the crime as well as the flaws and inadequacies inherent in the crime fighting forces and the law.