When nurses come to realize that patients sicken and die unexpectedly when Dr. Michael Swango is on duty, they raise the alarm, but the doctor is always one step ahead of investigators as they close in.
Detective Jon Burge has a gift for closing cases, so when allegations about his interrogation methods surface, they are ignored or dismissed until an explosive tip-off suggests that Burge is hiding a sinister secret.
Paul Bergrin is a successful defense lawyer who is lured by his clients into a life of drugs and vice; when Bergrin wins tough cases, the FBI suspects he's more dangerous than his own clients.
In Willow Springs, Ill., Police Chief Michael Corbitt colludes with Chicago mobsters to commit a string of extortion scams and violent crimes while becoming embroiled in a deadly extramarital affair.
Sidney Dorsey, the powerful sheriff of DeKalb County, Ga., is defeated by Derwin Brown in a runoff election and orders his assassination to prevent a corruption probe.