In Boston, one is bound to meet all sorts of people. When Alan Shore (James Spader) leaves his hotel room one morning, he overhears a loud argument. Being nosy, he goes to investigate. A surprise awaits. An acquaintance of his, Jenna, is being arrested for prostitution. Jenna's companion, a politician, is going to have a scandal on his hands.

At court, Alan tries to plea bargain. When it fails, he tries to get the ADA removed from the case. The judge refuses, and the war of words lands Alan, his client, and the senator in jail for contempt. The ADA says the married senator should tell his wife, in person, what happened. Soon, the woman is brought to the jail.

She responds to the matter with surprising calm. Even though their marriage had cooled off, she is more upset about her husband caught in the act. This exchange is painful both to the couple and to Alan and Jenna, who share the same cell.

The charges are dropped, and Alan tells the shaken man not to let his wife give up on him. Although the man does not respond, he recognizes the truth of Alan's words.

Back at the firm, Denny Crane (William Shatner) has a much more serious problem to deal with. Two men arrive, one wearing a bomb on his jacket. The man's mother was killed when he was a child. Denny and his father got the accused killer off fifty years ago, and the victim's son now wants revenge. When Denny realizes this is not a joke, he says he is not afraid to die. The man replies Denny will not die alone, as the bomb will be detonated.

By the time the three run into Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois) and Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen), Denny is also wearing a bomb. They go to the conference room where Claire Simms (Constance Zimmer), Brad Chase (Mark Valley), Clarence Hall (Gary Anthony Williams), and Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) are working on a civil suit between two pageant competitors.

The man wants to try the case again, taking the role of the prosecutor. Denny acts as the defense attorney, but this is higher stakes. Everybody else has a part to play, except two. Brad is sent out of the room, along with Shirley, who is made the liaison between the hostage taker and police.

When the SWAT team arrives, Brad offers to help. Being an ex-Marine gives him special skills. The team leader asks him to find a way in without alerting those in the conference room. It later occurs to Brad to crawl through the air vent and see if he can overhear. Shirley tries to stop him, but she doesn't have to. Brad manages to get stuck after getting his body halfway in.