Ed falls in love with an actress, accidentally caught up in a robbery case. Although the affair is mutual, Vivian Page is a pacifist, and unable to accept Ed's career in the force. Both have to decide what means the most to them, and in the end, separate; whilst the cameras pull back, and curtains fall across the screen, as though it had all been just a movie...!

A military-issue fragmentation grenade is used in an attack on two Vietnam veterans, one of whom - a friend of Mark's - is killed. When it transpires that another of the pair's old unit has come under similar attack, the Chief sets out to trap the killer, using Ed in a cunning disguise as bait.

A series of murders appear to be connected to an old friend of the Chief's, an ageing woman from San Francisco's old rich set; and when the murders are linked to her debutante's ball and she appears to be exhibiting signs of deteriorating mental health, the odds look stacked against her. As always, though, the Chief looks elsewhere to find the truth.