Manny Mandell, involved in a shootout with a fleeing felon in which his partner is fatally wounded, receives a Police Department medal as a result. The survivor's guilt is bad enough, but as a medal winner he finds the expectations overwhelming.

Officer Ron Tice engages hostage taker Richey Neptune in protracted negotiations, a task complicated by the fact that one of the five hostages is the Deputy Chief's daughter-in-law.