A gunman (James Russo) with a sawed-off shotgun takes medical personnel at Cook County Hospital hostage. The premiere is all about a panicky kid who holds a hospital hostage after his brother is gunned down in a robbery attempt.

Public defender Megan Powers risks her life when she investigates a gangland-style slaying, and Officer Joe Gilland has to break up a humorous argument over a woman between two old friends.

A small time hood must decide between life and freedom when he refuses to allow the evidence, a bullet lodged near his spine, that prosecutor Dutton needs to convict him to be removed surgically; Gilland fights to save his niece from the influence of a pimp who would turn her into a prostitute