As Sam and Jim begin their investigation into a fatal armed robbery, they welcome a new detective to the squad, a young black man named Cliff Sims. From the description of the killer, Cliff is able to identify him as Jesse Hawkins, a guy he knows from the neighborhood and whose brother happens to be a leading black militant. He manages to get Rex, Jesse's brother, to try and persuade him to turn himself in, but his efforts fail, leading Cliff to question whether or not he wants to continue being a cop, despite encouragement from his fellow officers.