Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the murder of a man found beaten to death in a hotel suite. It appears the victim was Didier Foucault, a Swiss conman who cheated a group of wealthy investors and romanced their wives, but further evidence reveals that the dead man is not Foucault, but his assistant Felix Perez. The detectives discover that the investors hired a hitman to teach Foucault a severe lesson, but that he learned of the attack and sent Perez to his hotel room in his place. The hitman attacked Perez, but left him alive, and Goren begins to suspect that Foucault returned to the hotel and killed him. ADA Carver indicts the investors on false murder charges, in an attempt to lure Foucault out of hiding so they can arrest him for Perez's murder. Inspired by the life of Christophe Rocancourt.

An investigative news reporter and his girlfriend are gunned down in the street, and the detectives learn that the reporter had a history of uncovering police corruption. Their investigation into the deaths leads to the buying and selling of pardons, and a connection to organized crime. When their investigation leads them to the state governor's office, Captain Deakins orders the detectives off the case, but Carver's work ethics put him at odds with Goren and Eames.