Franks comes under fire when three members of his staff and a Russian mob witness are executed prior to trial, apparently as a result of a staff member leaking the witness's whereabouts to the Russian mob, which only serves to jeopardize the mayoral endorsement that's crucial to his gubernatorial ambitions.

Franks relies on the intelligence, cunning and creativity of his staff to solve the mystery behind the deaths of a married couple when he is forced to recuse himself from the case.

When the body of a suspected terrorist and mass murderer missing for ten years is excavated during a commercial renovation, Franks comes under considerable pressure from the community and his rivals in the D.A. race when forensics reveals that the man cannot be positively identified and was murdered several days prior to the hate crime massacre he supposedly committed with the same weapon used in the slayings.