After risqu? photos of a fifteen-year-old rape victim are leaked onto the internet, Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson's case becomes much more complicated. As the detectives' case slowly morphs into an investigation by the State Bar, Stabler's son becomes entangled in a streak of compromising events at the hands of his best friend, a recovering drug addict. As Benson takes charge of the rape case, Stabler is forced to set his personal opinions aside and deal with the potentially life-threatening situation his son and his friend have so carelessly gotten themselves into.

When two young girls are similarly murdered a little over a month apart, Detective Odafin Tutuola decides to investigate the gruesome crimes. After a third killing, Fin discovers that all three children were "anchor babies" of immigrant families, and reaches out to the Center of Immigrant Services. After sifting through the Center's hate mail, and witnessing a fight between immigration lawyer Randall Carver and Joe Thagard, a fanatical follower of a xenophobic talk show host, Fin begins to narrow in on the killer.