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.

Belker forgets his mother's birthday; Hill and Renko look into urban cattle rustling; LaRue and Washington apply for jobs in the Bahamas; and Furillo sits on a board of rights for a fellow captain accused of neglecting his duties.

Washington's guilt over shooting a bystander resurfaces; Hill's vagabond father pays a visit; Belker goes undercover as Santa Claus; and Bates spends the holiday in the hospital.

Coroner Nydorf offers to fix things when Coffey is accused of killing a prisoner in custody; LaRue develops another scheme to make money out of a comic named Vic Hitler; Joyce decides her future.

Furillo feels pressure from the press and Chief Daniels to clear up the shooting death of the Reverend Booker Simons; Joe Keenan interferes on the Hill in pursuit of some renegade Colombian drug dealers; Joyce tries to help a very young hooker straighten out; LaRue and Washington are forced to move early on a chop shop where Belker is undercover; Fay endangers the Simons investigation by revealing information to the victim's wife; Hill and Renko find a dead man and a live sheep in a compromising position; and Jesus (Martinez) rises again.