Richard DeAngelis

Baltimore homicide detective Jimmy McNulty gets into hot water and winds up assigned to a detail of narcotics outcasts investigating drug lord Avon Barksdale. Meanwhile, Avon's nephew D'Angelo, fresh off beating a murder rap, is demoted upon his return to the gang.

McNulty feels the heat when a witness who testified against D'Angelo is found murdered. Meanwhile, Greggs is given the lay of the land regarding Avon Barksdale's key players, and Herc, Carver and Prez find big-time trouble at the towers.

The early-morning 'field interviews' by Herc, Carver and Prez result in a minor riot, a boy losing an eye, and some bad publicity for the department. On the other side of the law, D'Angelo teaches Wallace and Bodie how to play the game... of chess.

Omar continues his strikes on Barksdale stash houses, while Bodie faces a critical test against Marlo. Elsewhere, as the wire on Proposition Joe continues to yield little, a restless McNulty launches his own reinvestigation into the suicide of D'Angelo Barksdale.

With Wallace in custody, McNulty and Daniels try to figure out what to do with him in the months before he testifies. Meanwhile, Sydnor and Carver track down one of Barksdale's stash houses, and Prez shows off his 'gift for the paper trail'.