Joe Friday is working the Homacide beat with partner Ben Romero. The call comes in that officers have been shot. Witnesses are questioned, forensics reports are in, and Friday is sent back out to go after the shooters. Gotta love that huge IBM machine with a room sized computer.

The dramas and suspense builds when computer match ups ballistic reports from several crimes. The new info helps focus our detectives in their work and the next witness tells of a nickel plated gun and a red headed gunman. Dramatic scene recreations are interjected into the interview. Mixing drama with the deadpan police work that the show would later

The robberies and shootings continue. Some facts line up, but others don’t. Is it the same robbers or not? Informants come through, and names are given to follow up on. It’s the crucial point needed to bring the case together, and take down the bad guys. The suspects are tough nuts to crack, but with some misleading questioning to make them feel safe, the crooks rat each other out and do the work for the cops.