A prostitute accuses a detective of blackmailing her for sex; Goldblume searches for a missing child; a former gang leader returns to the Hill as crusading social reformer; Belker busts a purse snatching orangutan and keeps in touch with an undercover rookie planted inside a volatile street gang; and Furillo and Esterhaus question their current romantic involvements.

Hill covers for an old friend with personal problems who uses excessive force on an arrest; Coffey arrests an old family friend during a visit to his old neighborhood; Fay introduces her fiance; and negotiations breakdown between the police union and the city.

Belker meets an eccentric calling himself ""Captain Freedom"" while on a stakeout; LaRue gets more than he bargained for as a cell plant when he overhears an arson suspect taunting an accused child molester; and Furillo issues an ultimatum to the gangs after a savage massacre in a local tavern.

Grace asks Esterhaus for help with a barking dog; LaRue suffers a crisis of confidence about the PCP lab bust and starts drinking; Renko's family problems hurt his performance at work; Hill antagonizes everyone in his efforts to recruit for the BOC; Goldblume resorts to force to deal with landlord Sosa; and Furillo tries in vain to hold onto Walter Harmon for the death of Pam Gilliam.