Hearing of the death of hotel mogul Chip Meadows, Hardcastle immediately cuts short a fishing trip. While at first Mark is perplexed by his friend's actions, he begins to under stand upon learning that Meadows was married to former actress Jane Bigelow, Hardcastle's old girlfriend. Feeling awkward about attending the funeral but still needing to do something, Hardcastle decides to drive by Jane's house. To his regret, Hardcastle interrupts a burglar and is shot. After Hardcastle is released from the hospital, he tracks the car seen fleeing from Jane's house to Bob Gleason, a reporter with The California Sentinel. Before Hardcastle and McCormick are able to learn anything from Gleason, the reporter is murdered. Seeing someone flee from Gleason's house, Hardcastle and McCormick pursue. To their surprise, the suspect turns out to be Jane. Explaining herself, Jane, who claims that Gleason was already dead when she arrived, reveals that Gleason had been working on exposing Chip as an embezzler. The case takes an interesting turn when, after Mark "borrows" Gleason's notes, they discover that the reporter had evidence that Chip faked his own death. With some help from a reluctant Jane, who still loves her husband despite his actions, Hardcastle and McCormick capture a very much "alive" Chip Meadows.

Mark is thrilled when he wins $20,000 racing in the Arizona Modified. His joy quickly dissipates when thieves hold him up and steal his winnings as well as the Coyote. Based on Hardcastle and McCormick's description of the thieves, Deputy Sheriff Dan Johnson realizes that they were robbed by locals Arvin Lee and Melissa Kantwell. Complicating matters is the fact that Melissa is the wife of Billy Blackstone, the city's sheriff. After recovering the Coyote from a used car salesman, Hardcastle and McCormick begin to track the crooks. To their surprise, they catch up with Arvin Lee only to discover that he has been murdered. Putting the pieces together, they realize that Blackstone probably killed Arvin Lee. Taking their theory one step further, Hardcastle and McCormick speculate that Melissa only pretended to fall in love with Arvin Lee in order to trick him into stealing for her. With Johnson's help, the judge and Mark locate Blackstone and Melissa. With Blackstone unwilling to surrender, the deputies are forced to shoot and kill him. To Mark's regret, the shoot-out starts a fire that destroys his racing winnings.

For the judge's birthday, Mark decides to help Sandy Knight, a clean-cut police officer that he detests, prove that soon-to-be-paroled criminal Weed Randall killed his attorney fifteen years ago. (Hardcastle presided over the case that put Weed in jail.) Since Weed was in custody at the time of the murder, they realize that he must have called someone to arrange the hit. Recalling (from his own prison days) that most of the calls in Weed's prison were monitored by a convict named Pop Witherspoon they pay a visit on the convict. Learning of their investigation, Witherspoon, who is dying, agrees to testify. With this new evidence, the district attorney's office decides to retry Weed. Due to a shortage in available judges and concerned that Witherspoon may not live long, the city asks Hardcastle to try the case. To Mark's horror, Weed pulls a gun during the trial, shoots Hardcastle, and escapes. Out for revenge, Sandy kidnaps a local bartender for information about Sybil Monroe, Weed's old girlfriend. With the judge in critical condition, Mark realizes that he has to stop Sandy as well as catch Weed. Realizing that there must have been some big payoff to get a gun into a courthouse, Mark confronts Fix Henderson, a prisoner tied in to most major deals. Based on Fix's information, Mark learns where he can find Weed. In the meantime, Sandy foolishly lets himself be captured by Weed. Arriving on the scene, Mark, who has never killed anyone before, is forced to kill Weed in order to save Sandy. Later, after Hardcastle begins to recover, Sandy faces the consequences of his illegal actions.

Afraid that some police officers are acting as assassins, patrolman Raphael Mendez goes to Hardcastle for help. Before Hardcastle can put Mendez in contact with police commissioner Emhart, however, the young officer is killed. Realizing that since they are dealing with bad cops, any police investigator would be recognized, Emhart convinces Hardcastle to send McCormick in undercover. Posing as William Thomas O'Reilly, a former New Jersey police officer, McCormick begins his investigation. As expected, the crooked officers, led by Eddie Dawson, begin to trust Mark. The situation becomes more complicated when Jake Fellows, one of the bad cops, discovers an irregularity in Mark's background. To Mark's surprise (and relief), Fellows, who has begun to regret his part in the murders, decides not to turn Mark in to the other assassins. Realizing that something is amiss, Dawson kills Fellows and frames Mark for the murder in order to insure his cooperation. Upon learning that the cops are planning on murdering a suspected mobster named Ed Coley (who is testifying against the mob), Mark leaves a message for the judge. Not realizing that they are walking into a trap, Dawson and his men are easily caught.

When Billy Bauer is critically wounded committing a crime, he decides to come clean with the fact that, a number of years ago, he was paid $25,000 to frame baseball player Duke McGuire for murder. Although Bauer dies shortly after making his statement, there is sufficient cause to free Duke from prison. Feeling partially responsible for Duke serving a crime he did not commit, Hardcastle is determined to help him get back into baseball. Deciding the best way to get Duke noticed is to stage a media event, Mark has the released player challenge baseball player Ron Cey to an exhibition. Impressed with Duke's abilities, California Stars owner Chuck Foster hires Duke. The judge quickly realizes that Duke is still someone's target when drugs are planted in the player's locker. Investigating, Hardcastle discovers that Donald Farrell, the father of Nick Farrell, Duke's old rival, took a $25,000 mortgage on his house around the time Duke was framed. Confronting Donald, Hardcastle learns that Nick had borrowed the money. Meanwhile, Nick, convinced his career will be over if Duke returns (and seeing his drug plan fail), prepares to shoot Duke. Although Duke is wounded, Hardcastle and McCormick manage to stop Nick in time to prevent the player from suffering any permanent injuries.

After seeing reputed mobster Stevie Ray kill a man named Tommy Chen, former prostitute Angie Bloom goes into hiding. Before disappearing, she decides to leave Nicky and Lindsey, her young children, with Hardcastle for safekeeping. While the kids initially refuse to tell the judge their name, the judge eventually realizes that they are Angie's children. Meanwhile, Hardcastle and McCormick discover something is amiss when some men unsuccessfully try to kidnap the kids. Following a hunch, Hardcastle pays a visit on a former madam named Dolores. The hunch pays off and the judge locates Angie. Convinced that Hardcastle has her best interests in mind, Angie tells the judge the whole story. Recognizing that the best way to protect Angie is to put Stevie in prison, Hardcastle arranges for her to testify. To his regret, the officers that pick up Angie are actually Stevie's men. Upon learning the truth, Hardcastle and McCormick "convince" one of Stevie's men to tell them where to find Angie. Following up on their lead, the two men capture Stevie and rescue Angie.