When a museum curator and an art authenticator are found dead in what was set up to look like a murder-suicide, Goren and Eames follow the clues and realise that the deaths are linked to the sale of numerous art forgeries. Their investigation hits a dead end when they're unable to locate the forger until Goren seeks the help of another forger.

When an business executive's wife and two daughters are kidnapped for a loanshark because the loan hasn't been paid off, Goren and Eames are frustrated by the man's lack of cooperation, which stymies them further when the man's released daughter proves to have been sexually assaulted.

After a mother of two is shot dead in Chinatown, Goren and Eames first believe that her death may be connected to the Tianamen Square massacre, but then their investigation leads them to a smuggling ring dealing in antiquities.