The smoldering corpse of an Asian girl found outside the Chinese consul general's apartment leads the detectives to believe she had immolated herself to make a political statement. When forensics shows that she had been murdered beforehand, they find themselves in the middle of a religious conflict, with the consul general their prime suspect and his attorney an old friend of DA Branch.

The murder of a bookie with a high-class clientele leads the detectives to arrest his partner. Charged with first-degree murder, his attorney puts forth an unusual defense strategy that turns the trial into a political statement.