An elderly black man is beaten to death late at night in a public park. All indications point to a hate crime. Political pressure mounts to resolve the murder case quickly in order to avoid the political unrest which is boiling over. Detective Ben O'Shea catches the case and despite the pressures sets out to find the truth behind the murder of Willy Parnell. Meanwhile Gabriel Ross has a case of his own when a U.S. Congressman gets blackmailed.