A deadly drunk-driving car accident brings Detectives Lupo and Bernard to the scene when a suspicious nasal spray is found. After the medical examiner realizes the nasal spray is a powerful anesthetic that could easily disorient its user, the detectives learn that the victim was about to blow the whistle on the pharmaceutical company she worked for, causing the detectives to become suspicious of her boss, Zach Marshall (Rich Sommer).

When an elderly man, Stan Harkavy (Elliott Gould), a small businessman in Spanish Harlem, defends his shop from an armed robbery, Detectives Bernard and Lupo suspect that this incident could have been an inside job. However, the investigation later discovers that there are holes in his story; they learn that the mugging might have been a scare tactic for a shakedown, and that Mr. Harkavy's shooting may not have been a case of self-defense.