With the deadly Armenian triggerman, Margos, hot on their trail, the Strike Team is turning over Little Armenia to find him first. A chilling discovery is made when the mole in the Treasury department reveals that names and photos of the Strike Team have been delivered to the Armenian Might. As the Strike Team digs deeper into the Armenians, they discover a helpless Armenian woman whose sister is being held hostage by Margos. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette investigate the shooting of a public defender after the sentencing of a One-Niner. What they think could be retribution from the One-Niners turns out to be a much more complex cuddle case as they discover that the public defender has a drug problem and used regularly while she was in court.
The Shield breaks the conventional formula of the cop genre. It plays out in a tough, morally ambiguous world in which the line between good and bad is crossed ever day. The series focuses on the tension between a group of corrupt but effective cops and a captain torn between bringing them down and advancing his own political ambitions.
The Shield stars rogue cop "Det. Vic Mackey", leader of the elite Strike Team unit, who is effective at eliminating crime but who operates under his own set of rules. "Captain David Aceveda", the young precinct head who doesn't like Mackey's tactics and wants to bust him off the force. And "Det. Claudette Wyms", a veteran detective who understands Mackey and knows how to play both sides of the fence.