Oliver fails his responsibilities as mayor to deal with crime as Green Arrow, and is forced to work alone after Diggle and Thea have retired as vigilantes. In the past, Oliver meets an old friend and discovers that the only way to get close to his target is to join the Bratva.

A new metahuman, Sampson, gains the ability to ignore pain and becomes a threat to Star City. Oliver is forced to trust his team if he wants to defeat the man. Meanwhile, Thea makes a mistake while doing her job as mayor's chief of staff, and word of Quentin's hiring gets out. Meanwhile, Diggle decides what to do next when he is prosecuted by the U.S. military.