Adam-12 attends to a landlord/tenant dispute turned violent. Although the landlord is legally in the right, they can understand at least why the tenant is so disgruntled. Johnson, the tenant, used a stolen vehicle in the incident, that belonging to a Jay Finlay. As the car was not reported stolen, they assume rightly that Mr. Finlay has no idea that his car is gone. When they arrive in the largely family friendly neighborhood where the Finlays live, Malloy and Reed learn from a belligerent neighbor, Efiginia Grimes, that there have been a rash of robberies throughout the neighborhood, an item stolen here and there, with no major robberies from any one place. Malloy and Reed will eventually learn that there are two elements at play, one which involves a young boy who just wanted a room of his own.

Two armed convicts holding up a diner shoot Malloy who entered innocently, and hold him and other civilians hostage.