Satyam begins with Sathyam (Vishal (actor)), an assistant police commissioner rescuing a hooligan from encounter thirsty cops, only to arrest him later. He reminds his fellow cops that a cop's duty is to kill crime not criminals. Sathyam meets his first challenge in tracking a mysterious killer of three ministers. In the process, he finds the culprit Manickvel (Upendra (actor)), only to receive a rude shock to know his identity.