Sesongpremiere. I tredje sesong må teamet sette i gang raskt når en mann og hans to barn blir meldt savnet. På veien kommer etterforskerne over flere forferdelige familiehemmeligheter.

En mann som nettopp er sluppet ut av fengsel blir funnet drept. Mannen har hele tiden hevdet sin uskyld, og saken hans blir gjenåpnet etter hans død. Rusty innrømmer også hvorfor han har oppført seg så merkelig den siste tiden.

Teamet møter nye utfordringer når de må etterforske drapet på en hund som har arvet 20 millioner dollar. Teamet mistenker at det kan ligge noe kriminelt bak eierens død også, en rik enke.

En påstått voldtektsmann har blitt brutalt drept og en følsom sak havner i hendene på etterforskningsteamet. Rusty ser gjennom løgnene til sin egen mor og begynner å spekulere i hennes motiver.

Et drap som blir begått på et hotell etterforskes og resulterer i potensielle internasjonale ettervirkninger. Rusty sliter med hvordan han skal dele en stor hemmelighet med resten av politistyrken.

En ung rømling blir drept, og Major Crimes-teamet innleder en vanskelig etterforskning for å finne gjerningsmannen og avdekke offerets identitet. Raydor strekker ut hånden til ektemannen for å diskutere et forslag som omhandler Rusty.

Major Crims slår seg sammen med LAPDs spesialstyrker for å fange en drapsmann som har tatt gisler.

Tao havner i en dobbeltrolle når stjernen i politishowet han er konsulent for blir hovedmistenkt i drapet på stjernens største fan.

The mysterious murder of a tech-entrepreneur with questionable morals and possible mob connections has the Major Crimes division working overtime. Meanwhile, Rusty struggles to feel accepted when Raydor's son Ricky comes home to visit and Fritz Howard prepares to assume command of the LAPD's Special Operations Bureau.

The LAPD finds itself in a precarious situation during an investigation into the disappearances of a string of young girls from a popular nightclub, leading to a turf battle between The Major Crimes division and the Special Operations Bureau. Fritz Howard remains on the mend from poor health, while Rusty’s mom continues to struggle with the law and her sobriety.

A surrogate adoption gets complicated, leaving one person dead and a lot of people searching for answers. The Major Crimes division gets their hands dirty as they explore LA's underground water system. Sharon works to make Rusty officially part of her family, while he struggles to tell his biological mother about the upcoming adoption.

The unit runs into difficulty when it comes to identifying a suspect after two individuals are attacked with scissors at a high school party; Provenza meets a woman who has an unusually powerful and immediate impact on him.

A Hollywood comeback is interrupted when a former child star is found dead on skid row, leaving the director of the actor’s current movie and his manager as prime suspects. Flynn’s daughter comes to visit and the true nature of Sharon and Flynn’s relationship comes to light.

There is a miscarriage of justice when a gang banger is acquitted of murder and released from custody. Sharon’s ex-husband, Jack Raydor represents the suspect in a subsequent murder. Rusty takes a chance when the guy he has a crush on visits the station.

Santa finds himself on the naughty list after robbing a bank, but a Santa flash mob complicates his apprehension and the Major Crimes unit scrambles to figure out how things went so wrong. Sharon’s kids come to town for the holidays while Buzz starts training as a back-up police officer.

Flynn tries to talk a man down who is standing on the ledge of a bridge. But he soon discovers that the man is in fact a sex offender who has a dead body in his car. Rusty prepares a impact statement to try and end his involvement in the Stroh case.

The caregiver of Sanchez's mother is found murdered. Rusty takes on Jack when he turns up at Sharon's condo acting recklessly.

Phillip Stroh returns, demanding a new deal from DDA Rios in exchange for his cooperation; Major Crimes races to prevent the deaths of three women while trying to decode the source of Stroh's information.