Summertime and the violence is swarming. Deputy Chief Virginia West has a mood to match the heat in the city of Charlotte. Another out-of-town businessman has been found murdered in his hire car, a wise-ass detective has taken her parking slot, the new plice headquarters still resembles a construction site and her boss is telling her to go out on patrol as escort to Andy Brazil, a rookie reporter on the local paper. However, he's not the only cause of West's increased nicotine intake: departmental in-fighting, court appearances, her boss coping with an obese husband, and a never-ending stream of burglaries, busts and bodies.