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San Francisco Police Chief Robert Ironside has just retired and works at the vineyard that he owns with his wife, Katherine. But Ed Brown, he friend and associate, who is now the Deputy Chief in Denver arrives with the Commissioner and Joe McManus the Chief of Detectives, and they ask him to fill the position of Chief which is vacant because of the death of Tom Bell, the previous Chief. They want him to assess the department and recommend someone to be th new Chief. Ironside refuses and McManus who opposes Seeking Ironside agrees and leaves. The commisoner and Brown tell him that it will only be temporary but Ironside is adamant about his decision. Brown asks the Commissioner if he can speak to him alone and tries to plead with him to reconsider. Ironside says he can handle it but Brown is worried that he still doesn't have his intuitiveness. With help from Katherine, Brown convinces him to accept and promises him that he won't be there that long. But he ends up being there longer than Brown said he would. Brown and McManus see Ironside and McManus asks him if he has decided on who will be the new Chief and he tells them that he doesn't make decisions like that without looking at every factor carefully. They then talk about the Regency Meadows Development, it seems that there's a city ordinance that states that the Police must check all building sites for hazardous materials, which is something McManus doesn't think they should be doing. They then talk about Chief Bell's murder which occurred after he went to the Regency site and a car bumped into him and when Bell went to talk to the driver he shot Bell. Now McManus thinks that Bell had the misfortune of being shot by a junkie or wacko but Brown thinks that it was made to appear that way so that they would not suspect it of being a hit. But McManus dismisses Brown's theory. Suzzane Dwyer, Eve Whitfield's daughter is Ironside's assistant and she's engaged to Mike Quinn, a detective. But she always finds him with Judy Bernardo, another cop and she is suspicious. She finds signs of Mike being with Judy. She then confronts her and a fight breaks out. Ironside breaks it up and talks to Suzzanne and brings her and Mike to work things out. One night she follows Mike and finds him with Judy at her place. Moments later the house explodes. When the police arrive, McManus tells Ironside and Brown that he is looking at Suzzanne but they proclaim her innocence. They speak to her and her alibi doesn't make sense. They believe she is innocent so they try and prove it. They show up at her apartment with a warrant and Eve is there. They show some of the evidence they found like a footprint that matches Suzzanne's shoe. The police find a gun hidden which is the same kind that Mike uses and discover that two rounds were discharged. They then arrest her. The Commissioner asks Ironside to make his decison so he can leave; it seems that he has been getting heat over what has been happening. At Suzaanne's arraignment, Fran Belding and Mark Sanger arrive. When the prosecutor tries to have her remanded, the defense attorney says that the Ironsides have put their vineyard up as security to ensure her appearance. Later she thanks them and Ironside asks her to tell them the truth. The truth is she was there but the person she wanted to harm was herself so went on a drinking binge and it ended with her hitting someone with her car. She kept it quiet cause she was concerned what would happen to him because it was her drinking that got her thrown off the force in San Francisco and Ironside vouched for her. Upon hearing this Ironside is touched and asks Jerry the police officer assigned to him to check on the police logs to see if the man Suzzanne hit made a report. On his way, he stops by McManus' office. Later at a roadside bar Brown, Suzzanne and Ironside find the man but before they can bring him, a car pulls out and runs over the man and nearly runs over Ironside. McManus arrives and blasts them for not informing him of their plans. Later back at her place, Suzzanne is about to drink when Eve confronts her and she has second thoughts. Ironside and Brown are looking at the crime scene when they find some evidence like how the driver was getting ready to run the guy down when they showed up and had to ad lib. They also see that the car was a different color, which is significant. Later the others show and offer their servies but Ironside tells them that there is nothing to do. Later Ironside announces that he chooses McManus to be the new Chief. Brown storms off after the announcement. Later at Suzzanne's they are wondering what happened. It's at that moment that Ironside and Brown show up. It was all a ruse to take the focus off them. They believe that someone within the department is behind all this and they also tell them that the car that struck the guy was the same one that the one who killed Tom Bell was using albeit a different color. They begin by wondering who killed Mike and Judy. They begin by looking into Mike's history as the head of the organized crime unit and Judy's as a hazardous materials officer. Suzzanne then tells them that Mike once said that he has some kind of protection against those who would harm him. Brown gets Mike and Judy's files and gives them to Mark to look into. Fran and Eve visit Bell's wife who tells about everything that happened when her husband was killed. It began when he suspected that someone in the department maybe a woman was doing something suspicious. She then tells then that McManus whom she told this to told her that what Bell did had nothing to do with his murder.Mark goes to the Law library to get info on certain companies that were in Mike's file. Jerry is being stalked by Brown who later confronts him about his spying on them for McManus and to rethink if he is backing the right side. Suzzanne goes back to Judy's and is caught by a cop who brings her out but then Ironside shows up and tells her to go with him. Ironside tells her that something's not rioght aboutthe cop who found her at Judy's. Because he was about to let her go for entering a crime scene without taking her name. They then discuss that Judy's not Mike's type, which makes them wonder why he was with her. Ironside says he wanted something from her. That's when Brown calls and tells them that Mark discovered that the people behind Regency Meadows are in organized crime. Which means that Mike wanted Judy to fix the inspections. Ironside then tells Brown to check on the cop who caught Suzzanne. Ironside then tells them to try and find the other thing he wants them to find. McManus is meeting with a man named Matzinger, who is behind the Regency project. He then tells McManus about Eve and Fran going to his building site and Mark checking up on him. That's when Matzinger threatens him. They then hear a sound but find nothing. But actually it's Jerry. Later back at Suzzanne's Mark and Brown reveal what they have been finding--safety deposit boxes. It seems that Mike opened one and it hasn't been touched since. They suspect it's evidence he collected, which is suppose to protect him. But they wonder why the person Mike entrusted with the key didn't open it. That's when Jerry shows up telling them about McManus and Matzinger meeting and talk the cop, Gillette, who found Suzzanne at Judy's is assigned to McManus and that he is occassionally assigned to impound which is where the car that killed Bell came from. Ironside goes to the morgue with Mike's dental records and looks at Mike's corpse. He discovers that the body is not Mike's, which means the coroner is involved. On the way Ironside and Brown discuss that Mike told them that if he can escape he will deal with Judy and the evidence will remain locked up and why he faked his death. The coroner discovers the marks made by Ironside's wheelchair and calls McManus. Ironside tells Suzzanne that Mike is alive and that they have to find him to clear her. They asl her if he has anyone he would turn to. That's when Eve tells them that Mike had a fiance before and Suzzanne tells them that she works in a bank and Brown reveals that it's the same bank where the safety deposit box is. Suzzanne speaks to her and she listens. McManus and Gillette upon learning of Ironside discovering Mike's alive discuss what they will do. McManus decides to let them find the evidence and then they will deal with Mike. Ironside and Brown find Mike in Tahoe and deduce that it's all the money that accumulated that he can't explain why he faked his death. They then take him back to Denver. McManus learns that they are coming back by train so they go out to intercept it. Ironside gets a call telling them that the evidence has been stolen. They then prepare for McManus. When McManus arrives he attacks Ironside and goes to take care of Mike but finds Brown instead who takes care of him and Ironside takes care of Gillette. Mark and Jerry are aiding Mike who broke his ankle when they jumped off the train. Back in Denver everyone involved has been arrested. Suzzanne goes to see Mike and tells him off and throws his ring in the bed pan. Brown tells Ironside that the Commissioner wanted to see him but opted not to because he is embarrassed. Ironside tells Brown to tell him that he can make it up by appointing Brown as the new Chief. He and Katherine then leave.