Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the murder of a social worker, Larry Mello, who is found dead on the street. The investigation reveals that Mello was less than honest creating fictitious children to be placed in foster homes and then pocketing the monthly payouts. As they begin to check out some of his clients they arrive at the home of Alan Corbin to learn that his adoptive son Alex has that morning been kidnapped. Curtis thinks the boy's biological family may be behind it all, both the kidnapping and Mello's murder. They arrest the boy's mother at the bus depot as she is trying to leave town with him. She is charged with murder and kidnapping and is represented by former ADA Paul Robinette who argues in court that she had every right to take her African-American son back as he was adopted by a white family.
—garykmcd