The SWAT team searches for a group of drug smugglers who crash a plane in a Los Angeles suburb and scatter, after a joint mission with the DEA to stop the shipment goes awry. Also, Hondo tries to make amends with Nichelle, Luca experiences anxiety about his return to the field, and Deacon hesitates when asked to speak to a group of recruits about mental health.

Hondo, his father Daniel Sr. and his teen charge Darryl confront the history of racial tension in Los Angeles between law enforcement and the Black community, through flashbacks to the city in 1992 following the Rodney King verdict. Also, the SWAT team pursues El Diablo’s scattered drug cartel hiding in the city and a Jihadist group detonating bombs in coordinated attacks,