A headless corpse fished out of the river sends Briscoe and Curtis out to Los Angeles to obtain a blood sample from their chief suspect while McCoy and Ross back in New York try to obtain a court order for the procedure.

Back in New York with their suspect, Briscoe and Curtis try to pin down his schedule on the night of the murder, but find instead that another man was in the area at the right time and more importantly, might have a motive for the crime. But after the issuance of a new arrest warrant, McCoy and Ross have to fly to LA to defend their warrant against attacks by the man's defense counsel, Ross's former husband Neal Gorton.

The trial of Eddie Newman begins but the prosecution's chances of conviction are hampered by a "dream team" of defense attorneys, Gorton's personal pressures on Ross, the public questioning of the relationship between Curtis and Lisa Lundquist, and a surprise accusation.