After the notorious Franklin Terrace public housing towers are razed, the Barksdale drug crew searches for a new home on the streets of West Baltimore. McNulty and the detail look to make a case against Stringer Bell with a wiretap on a drug ring run by his ally, Proposition Joe. Daniels' promotion is derailed by City Hall due to his estranged wife's political ambitions.

The brutality at police headquarters continues over the perceived failure of department commanders to rein in the city's crime stats. Another hit by Omar on the Barksdale stash houses goes horribly wrong. Proposition Joe summons Stringer Bell to a meeting and tells him that the cops have screwed up. Daniels reassigns his detail after the wire on Stringer Bell goes dead.