When Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler discover a kidnapped girl in the trunk of a stolen rental car, they are led to her abductor; a violent, schizophrenic artist named Saul Picard. Picard's rage seriously injures Elliot, and the trial drives A.D.A. Casey Novak to face not only a complicated case on temporary insanity, but her own dark past as well.

When a family's nanny is found gruesomely murdered, the obvious suspect is her Internet love interest, "Casanova". But it isn't long before Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler suspect the nanny's employers may have a few dark skeletons in their closet. The investigation leads to a case of murder and infidelity, which is further complicated when Stabler's own family suffers a tragedy that leaves Stabler's unborn child in serious danger.