A paroled murderer's determination to kill Delvecchio sets off a series of actions that organized crime seizes upon to help damage Del's credibility as a witness in a murder case.

Delvecchio and Shonski lock horns with a brutal, prejudiced small-town cop when they travel to Arizona.

Delvecchio probes into the case against a bigoted old-time detective suspected of the coldblooded shooting of a black honor student.

When a cancer diagnosis compels a young Catholic woman to take her own life, Delvecchio faces a personal struggle to get her a church burial despite her act of suicide. Learning about the doctor who gave her the diagnosis, though, gives him an urgent duty as a policeman, protecting the community.