When a woman is murdered during an afternoon shopping trip with her daughter, Detectives Benson and Stabler are called in because she was scheduled to testify in their high-profile rape case. As the detectives continue to investigate the correlation between the murder and their case, they discover unlikely friendships that will lead them to the truth.
When a young woman finds a teenage boy asleep and naked in her bedroom, his mother, Bree Walsh, is quick to defend him. While Detective Benson and Detective Stabler try to figure out what truly happened, they also have to manage the sneaky teenager and his naive mother. As the detectives dig deeper, they discover how deceptive appearances can be.
When an abandoned baby is found on playground, Detectives Benson and Stabler go in search of the child’s caregiver. Upon meeting the nanny and her boyfriend, Ken Turner, they soon realize that he is also engaged to the baby’s adoptive mother, Dede Aston. As the detectives dig deeper into Turner’s malevolent past, they realize that the law may be on his side.
Two high-powered attorneys face each other across the aisle when Casey Novak returns to the team, and Joe Dekker takes a leave of absence from his Los Angeles duties after his cousin is charged with rape. Dekker's unwavering belief in his cousin's innocence, and a court disturbance make Novak and Benson take another look at the evidence, which leads them to someone playing a very long game in the name of hatred.
When a young girl is found dead with a doll that is believed to have been left as a totem, detectives Benson and Stabler team up with Captain Jackson, a psychologist who assisted them with a recent case, to investigate her murder. Jackson joins the detectives as they retrace the girl’s last steps and go to meet with her piano teacher June Frye. Jackson’s skills prove to be invaluable in deciphering the meaning of the totem and ultimately finding her killer.
After the sexual assault of a young woman is videotaped and featured on a campus-wide intranet feed, detectives Elliot Stabler and Odafin "Fin" Tutuola go in search of the victim and her attacker. As they delve into the investigation, it becomes clear that the perpetrator created a spectacle to draw attention to his own issues.
Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri goes in search of Brooklyn District Attorney Page Ferguson, who she fears may be in danger. Qadri finds Ferguson just in time to witness her fall from the top of a parking garage. When Benson arrives, she discovers that the crime scene has been tampered with. Benson turns to an old friend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Danielson for help. As the investigation progresses, Benson begins to question Ferguson’s suspicious past and Qadri’s involvement in the case.
Debbie Shields comes home to find her partner Ann Jackson being raped by a man wearing a haunting mask. Shields contacts Ann's father to notify him of her critical condition. As detectives Benson and Stabler interrogate Ann's father, Captain Jackson, his sordid past is revealed filled with sexual and alcohol addiction. Jackson's new role as a sex therapist is hindering the detectives from getting the information they need to solve the case and if Jackson won't comply, the detectives are going to have to get creative.
A young man finds that his girlfriend Larissa Welsh has been attacked in her apartment with evidence that points to her buried past. Detectives Benson and Stabler go in search of her attacker and discover that an elderly man, Orville Underwood, may have been involved in traumatic events of Welsh’s past. For the detectives, solving the case comes down to who was in possession of the evidence.
A young boy is found dead on a park carousel after being dropped off by his uncle Joe Gilbert. When Detectives Benson and Stabler learn that the boy was beaten to death they suspect that it could be the result of a bully at school. The investigation leads to an unsettling gambling ring. Detectives suspect that Gilbert's acquaintance, Joe Roberts is beating his wife Sandra and the case takes a horrifying turn.
With young Calvin in her care, Detective Benson continues the search for his drug-addict mother, Vivian, but Detective Stabler notices a strong bond forming between Benson and the boy. When Vivian’s name comes up during a rape investigation, Captain Cragen assigns Detectives Fin and Munch to the case instead. However, it will take more than Cragen’ s orders to keep Benson away.
Stabler's participation in a Take Back the Night rally at Kathleen's campus results in an extra case for him and Benson when a student claims she was raped. Unfortunately, the case turns out to be a "he said-she said" type with little evidence. Enter Sonya Paxton, and it can only get more complicated.