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Cagney and Lacey are less than enthusiastic about their latest assignment: talking to high school girls about careers in the police force. The investigation into the death of a bag lady comes as a welcome distraction, although interviewing bedfuddled homeless people proves to be frustrating. They are surprised to hear that the victim walked into the precinct the night before her death. La Guardia and Coleman confirm the story, stating that the woman, known as Mary, Queen of Scots, rambled on about "dirty fix sheet" and "red man off pier".

The coroner explains to Cagney and Lacey that the bag lady was killed by a blow to the head. Her identity is still unknown, but her age is put at 35, which shocks the two detectives. They thought they were dealing with an older lady. Cagney checks out a homeless shelter that the Mary frequented. Talking to a volunteer worker, she learns that it only takes some bad luck for an ordinary person to wind up homeless.

Obsessed by the dead woman's fate, Cagney spends overtime trying to figure out the words Mary uttered the night before her death. She realizes the woman may have been saying "36th Street" and "dead man off pier". Did the bag lady see some crime being committed? Cagney contacts the harbor police and the river is dredged near 36th Street. They find the body of a mobster, Benni Bartelli. This means that the entire case moves to the Organized Crime Control Bureau, to Cagney's frustration.

Cagney's mood doesn't get any better when Samuels informs Cagney and Lacey that they have been chosen for a television commercial that's supposed to sell women on a career in the police force. Their first meeting with director Joe Price is hardly promising. He's pleased to see such down-to-earth women playing cops.

After hours, Cagney works on the dead bag lady's case some more. In a bar she meets up with Maurice, a homeless man Mary was known to assort with. With the help of some alcohol the man tells her that Mary saw a truck from Pandora Trucking Inc at the pier. Cagney gives Maurice her phone number in case he remembers more. Unfortunately, Maurice is being followed by a mobster, who takes Cagney's phone number in return for some whiskey. Cagney tells the people of OCCB about the Pandora Trucking Inc lead, but they don't seem to be interested.

When Cagney returns to her loft later that night, she finds it completely wrecked, with a message left behind: "Back off." Shocked by the damage done to her prized possessions, she buys a bottle of champagne and looks up the Laceys. After all, it's her birthday. She admits that she can't let the Jane Doe case go as long as the woman's name is not known.

The next day Cagney and Lacey show up for the filming of the commercial. Mary Beth keeps flubbing her lines and Lacey is called away by the OCCB. They did follow up on her lead and have found a possible killer. Does Cagney want to join them for the arrest? They go to a house in the suburbs and find the suspect murdered in the trunk of his car. The OCCB also inform Cagney that a remark by Maurice led them to the name of the bag lady: Mary Dunston. This sort of closes the case for Cagney. She's also pleased to hear that the director has chosen to use real actresses for the commercial.