When a highly-trained sniper takes out a patrol car's front tyre, sending it crashing off the highway, the tactics used suggest to Hooker and Romano that the attacker is an ex-Vietnam war veteran gone bad, who has made the hit as practice for a bigger strike. But the culprit is closer to home than they expect, and is planning to turn an upcoming visit by the Mayor to the LCPD headquarters into a nightmare, with his own little war-zone...

Hooker and Romano are just finishing working on a case with Lt. Paul McGuire, a close friend and colleague of Hooker's, when they respond to a reported rape - in which the victim turns out to be none other than McGuire's own daughter. The girl is certain that she knows the attacker and can identify him, but the attacker, a lawyer, uses legal loopholes to get off without charge. As Hooker tries to nail the attacker ""by the book"", McGuire becomes infuriated at the lack of action taken and takes matters into his own hands, endangering not only his job, but Hooker's case that will bring the attacker to justice in the proper way...

In pursuit of a trio of diamond thieves, who escape via helicopter, Hooker is devastated when he accidentally shoots a 9-year-old boy, leaving the youngster critical in hospital. Meanwhile, Corrigan is concerned when his steady girlfriend Jill starts acting strangely before abruptly breaking off their relationship. The girl is actually being blackmailed by the trio of robbers; and when her body is found washed up from the ocean, Stacy goes undercover at the aerobics gym where Jill worked to try and get a lead, endangering herself in doing so...

Corrigan and Stacy respond to a seemingly trivial call about an illegally parked vehicle, only to stumble onto an armed robbery of a check-cashing outlet. As Corrigan calls for back-up, Stacy intervenes in the robbery to stop a man from being shot, only to taken hostage by the trio of armed thieves. With Stacy held prisoner by the robbers, the head of the trio rapidly develops an ""obsession"" for her, much to the aggravation of his girl-friend, who is also one of the theives. As Hooker and Corrigan search for Stacy and the thieves, they risk taking on the might of City Hall when it becomes apparent that the father of one of the trio is involved in the Mayor's re-election campaign and is prepared to pull strings to keep the whole case quiet. Meanwhile, the trio's leader's obsession with Stacy continues to grow – and it is the only thing that is keeping her from being killed...