J.J. is a rookie in the Sheriff's Department and the first black officer at that station. Racial tensions run high in the department as some of J.J.'s fellow officers resent his presence. His only real friend is the other new trooper, the first female officer to work there, who also suffers similar discrimination in the otherwise all-white male work environment. When J.J. becomes increasingly aware of police corruption during the murder trial of Teddy Woods, whom he helped to arrest, he faces difficult decisions and puts himself into grave personal danger in the service of justice.

Valerie's husband Darryl leaves for work as usual, but never returns. She hires private eye Shepard to find him. Soon he discovers that David had a second identity and obviously doesn't want to be found. But since Shepard is strongly attracted to the pretty Valerie, he investigates further and gets involved more than professionally.

In this gritty cops-and-crooks drama, two detectives hunt a gang leader suspected of murdering a New York cop. The detectives enlist the help of the dead cop's partner, who is also the brother of the gangster. There's nothing civil about this war that has two brothers squaring off against each other. The strong cast includes Mario Van Peebles, Ray Sharkey and Peter Boyle.