Detectives August Brooks and Chase McDonald meet when August and several officers are being overwhelmed by criminals in an explosive shootout. Chase arrives in his Porche and immediately neautralizes the situation with a grenade launcher. Moments later, August discovers that Chase is his new partner, and they are immediately assigned the case to track down a bomber - nicknamed the Daybomber - who has set off a series of explosions in his quest to warn people of the advances of technology.

After witnessing Nicole Stockman's murder on the order of Bobby Cole, Chase becomes a loose cannon. August pleads with his partner to follow legal avenues to catch Cole, and Captain Jensen suspends Chase after he destroys important financial papers belonging to Cole. Shoenrock claims that Stockman was suspected of working with Cole. Chase is furious, knowing this could never be true. Cole meets with Shoenrock, who is revealed to be undercover, acting as an accomplice, and tells him of his plans to execute the Colombian drug minister at the drug summit. Meanwhile, Chase goes renegade and visits a weapons dealer, purchasing some heavy duty weapons for his own personal use against Cole. After a huge battle in the streets of Los Angeles involving semi-trucks, helicopters, and rocket launchers, Chase ends up on a pier with Cole, weapons drawn in a stand-off, each prepared to take the other down . . . for good.

After three leading West Coast drug dealers die under suspicious circumstances, Chase and August suspect their old nemesis, Bobby Cole, is trying to claim all the drug action for himself. As Los Angeles prepares to host an international drug summit, the detectives investigate Cole through the usual legal channels while he ruthlessly carves out the competition and prepares to strike a deal with a Colombian drug lord.

A Western memorabilia collector is found murdered, and among the victim's belongings is a laptop containing August's name. August figures out that his name was listed among the descendants of Buffalo Soldiers, a special troop of black soldiers that fought during the Civil War. This brings up a part of August's past that he is ashamed to discuss: his great-great-great-grandfather, Augustus Brooks, was given a dishonorable discharge from the Army when he allegedly deserted his troop with three other soldiers, claiming to have been given a map leading to a gold mine that was never proven to exist. August's Aunt Maisie is attacked in her home by a thug, hired to steal a portion of the old map. The pieces have been handed down to each generation, and now someone is attempting to put the pieces together and lay claim to the gold.

Professor Larry Benton, a former teacher of Augusts', is brutally killed outside a jewelry store by thief Willie Mathers. August is devastated upon his arrival at the crime scene, having just had lunch with Benton moments ealier. August vows to catch Mathers, but is shocked when Benton's twin brother shows up from.

A motorcycle cop is shot and killed during a routine traffic stop. The killer's car is traced back to James Burquette, an attorney who had reported the car stolen earlier that day and is shocked to find that it was used in a cop slaying. When another officer is killed, August goes undercover as a motorcycle cop, hoping to lure the killer into striking again.

Danny Bledsoe, a key witness set to testify against crime boss Alfredo Matessa, is escorted to Los Angeles by Nicole Stockman, a beautiful tough-as-nails detective from San Francisco, where he had fled to. From the start, Nicole makes it very clear to Chase and August that she resents doing all the work to catch Danny in San Francisco, only to have them receive all the credit during the L.A. trial. And Danny isn't known as ""The Eel"" for nothing. As Chase and Nicole are transferring Danny to a safehouse, he escapes. Afraid that the police can't protect him from Matessa, Danny decides to take his chances on the streets. With time running out, Chase, August and Nicole have to catch the Eel before Matessa's thugs do.

Chase and August must assist the Army in catching Major Lauren Wiley, a C.I.D. officer accused of selling arms to the underground. Lauren is an old girlfriend of Chase's from college, but Chase insists that he works the case. Captain Randy Geddis leads the Army investigation and demands that Lauren be brought back to him immediately. At one point, Chase and August think they have Lauren cornered, but before she escapes, she tells a different story. She claims that Geddis is the crooked one, selling weapons on the black market to Bobby Cole. Chase and August don't know who to believe.

Chase and August must catch Patricia and Johnny, a mother and son bank robbing team that is responsible for a string of heists and murders. One of the duo's victims at the most recent heist was Gary, Annie's boyfriend. Annie witnessed the murder, and there is an attempt made on her life. Chase and August investigate the armored car company to see if there is a chance that the last heist was an inside job. They question the scheduling man, Morty Feinberg, who appears to be completely in the dark regarding the robbery. We soon learn, however, that he is linked to Patricia and Johnny, and has been helping them set up their heists. Annie works overtime to help Chase and August with the case, while Patricia and Johnny insist on pulling one more job with Feinberg, but it just might be their last.

A judge, a housewife, and an attorney are all killed by toy-like devices. While searching for the victims' possible connection, Chase and August discover that all three were involved in a court case years earlier in which a woman, working in a college laboratory, was killed in an explosion set off by a radical activist. At the conclusion of the trial, the killer was set free. Afterwards, the woman's husband, Karl Shipman, set out for his own revenge. After killing the man who killed his wife, Shipman was arrested and sent to prison for life. But Shipman wasn't finished with avenging his wife's death yet, and gave the orders for murders from prison.

While August recuperates from his injuries from the previous episode, Chase and D.E.A. agent Jack Lawson work together to rescue a mysterious accountant who has been working for Bobby Cole. The accountant, known simply as the Monk, is brought into police custody after a daring rescue by Chase and Lawson. But fearing for his life, the Monk refuses to talk. An F.B.I. agent, Shoenrock, has come to take the Monk into custody, but Chase believes that he'll be able to get the Monk to talk, but his and Lawson's plans are wrecked when the two discover that Shoenrock may not be who he claims to be.

August goes undercover as Jake Rheams, a notorious East Coast drug lord, who arrives in Los Angeles to make a deal with the Carletti crime family. August meets with Gina Carletti, the beautiful and seductive daughter. Alex Zota, the boss' right-hand man, suspects August from the start, never really believing that he is the real Jake Rheams. Meanwhile, Chase must back up his partner the best he can, including an interrogation with the real Rheams, who is being held at the station. August is tested by Zota, and only Rheams has the information that can help Chase save his partner's life.

Lane Healy, a competitive weightlifter, is the prime suspect in the gruesome beating-death of his wife, but he maintains his innocence. Chase and August investigate and meet another weightlifter, Terry King, a famous world champion. King has promised a victory at this year's ""Mr. Galaxy"" competition. When several of the top competitors, including Healy, are somehow removed from the contest, King becomes a suspect.

Michael Mills, a convicted killer, escapes from prison and seeks revenge on the three cops who put him there. He kills two of them and goes on the hunt for the third, August Brooks, who has gone camping with Kendra for two weeks. Chase is still in Los Angeles, investigating the murders of the two officers. After putting the pieces together, he realizes that August is in danger and tries to find him at the remote campsite where he is vacationing before Mills does.

Chase and August are at August's gym, where they are volunteering their time to help keep kids off the street and out of gangs. In the boxing ring is Andre, a young fighter determined to stay away from gang violence. But when word comes in that Andre's brother has been shot and killed by a rival gang, Andre swears to avenge his brother's death. Chase and August try to persuade him to let the police handle it, but Andre slips from their grasp in pursuit of the killer. The incident also brings back memories for Chase, who is struggling with unresolved guilt over his former partner's murder by a gang youth.

Chase and August are escorting an annoying accountant named Cecil Rusk - the star witness for the prosecution in mobster Marius Roma's tax evasion trial - to court when they are ambushed by Roma's brother and his thugs. After their car is destroyed, the trio escape on foot through a hail of gunfire. Alone on the streets of Los Angeles, they decide to head out of town, where they believe they'll be safe. But a mole inside the force is leaking information on the detectives' whereabouts to Roma's mob, and it's up to Captain Jensen and Det. Richardson to figure out who it is.

Ariel, a prostitute, is found dead. Nearby, a beautiful young hooker named Electra wanders the streets in a daze. Narrowly escaping Uzi-toting hitmen, she is taken into custody by Chase and August. Electra has amnesia and cannot remember what happened the night of Ariel's murder. Eager to crack the case, Chase and August are relieved of their investigation by Captain Jensen after orders from the mayor's office. Chase, convinced there is a cover-up in progress, refuses to drop the case.

When a group of criminals rob a computer chip assembly plant, Chase and August link the six million dollar heist to a local computer store. Posing as computer industry executives, the detectives visit the store and stage a robbery, pretending to save the day. Winning the confidence of the store's owner, Ray Bernard, they begin to work their way into his group.

Playing host to a COPS-like television show, Chase and August are out to catch the gangbangers responsible for a string of 211s around the city. The two-person TV crew tags along while the detectives tackle a 211 in progress and apprehend a couple of suspects. When Chase saves a store owner's 12-year-old boy just before a grenade erupts and the producer of the show says he plans to make Chase ""a star,"" August fears his partner's desire to be a movie star will slow their investigation.

Chase and August are eyewitnesses to a young man who throws a Molotov cocktail into a car right outside the gym. The perpetrator gets killed in the ensuing pursuit, but they find out that the car was registered to Carlos Altamarino, a known drug dealer. Chase is visited by an old college friend, now a CIA agent, who gives Chase a mysterious gold key for safekeeping and reveals that Carlos' operation has shifted power to a brother, a cousin, or perhaps even Carlos himself using an alias. The new boss carries the name Charlie Altamirano. Chase's friend is killed later, and the detectives work to figure out just what exactly is going on.

A young female tourist has been brutally murdered. The detecives suspect ""the Reaper,"" a deranged man who suddenly appears on the roof of the crime scene, screams biblical quotes at the officers, and opens fire. After a rooftop pursuit, Chase and August take him into custody. At police headquarters, Jensen explains that ""the Reaper"" is merely a mental institution escapee. The killer is still on the loose and plays with the detectives by leaving behind verses of a poem.

Arriving at the scene of a murder, Chase and August find that the victim is Bobby Roman, a favorite target of controversial shock-jock Jerry Maxwell. Roman has been shot in the head, just as Maxwell always advocated. When Chase and August confront Maxwell about the murder, the beligerent radio host denies involvement in the crime. But then a call comes into the station, and Maxwell is shocked to hear a devoted listener, Ward Valasco, claim that he killed Roman, and that he intends to kill all of Maxwell's enemies.

Arriving at a crime scene, Chase and August find a member of the Bulldog Crips gang shot to death. Chase is surprised to find a note containing rap lyrics pinned to his sleeve, which leads them to a rival gang member named Cage. After a daring chase, Cage is apprehended and interrogated by the detectives. Cage accuses A.K., a famous rap star, of the murder. Kicking in A.K.'s door, Chase and August square off with the musician and his manager, Frank Millan. But the detectives soon learn that nothing is what it seems, and the real killer is closer than they think. Meanwhile, Jodi's parents are in town.

When a wealthy foreign couple touring L.A. are found murdered and robbed, Chase and August are assigned to investigate. What they don't know is that these are not random killings, and that Russian mobster Ivan and his gang are plotting more crimes. The FBI demands that Chase and August focus only on the homicides and leave the robberies to them, but the detectives believe the two crimes may be connected.

A promising young boxer is beaten and left nearly dead. Arriving at the hospital, August and Chase intercept a hitman who attempts to finish the kid off with a lethal injection. They pursue the would-be killer through the hospital, finally stopping him with a jolt from a set of defribulator pads. Immediately, they sense that this case involves more than a random beating. August is visited by his former boxing coach, Frank, to whom he hasn't spoken since their falling out many years before. Frank says that he must tell August a secret that has been haunting him. But before he can reveal what he knows, Frank turns up dead, plunging the detectives further into mystery.

After a car chase with police, young Joey Morello, brother of a New York crime boss, barricades himself within a road-side burger stand, takes hostages, and demands a bus, plane, and money for an escape. Chase gains Joey's trust and talks some sense into the young man, getting him to drop his weapon. But when the cook panics and tries to escape, Joey is startled and draws an ankle-gun, and Chase is forced to shoot. The young kid dies, and his crime boss brother arrives in L.A. looking for revenge. Meanwhile, Chase is targeted by an Internal Affairs officer who is convinced he shot the young man for no reason because the kid's ankle-gun could not be found.

Chase and August thought they'd seen it all until they learn that the latest crimewave involves stealing kidneys from unsuspecting citizens. Racing to a downtown motel, they meet Andrew Green, the latest victim of the bizarre scheme. As Green is wheeled to an ambulance, he spots the prostitute who lured him to the scene of the crime where he was drugged and operated on, and Chase and August take off in pursuit. Det. Maria Vallejo goes undercover as a prostitute to assist in the detectives' investigation.

A van filled with illegal Mexican immigrants crashes in a violent explosion, killing many of its stowaways, and Chase and August arrive on the scene. Survivors limp with cuts and bruises, but the smuggler, the Coyote, has disappeared. One of the survivors tells the detectives that a man named Delgado had smuggled them across the border. Det. Maria Vallejo connects Delgado to a suspected sweatshop owner, and the detectives reluctantly put her undercover.