Members of a high school clique are bound together over the shared guilt of a classmate's death. We're shown the circumstances in the opening sequence, but only slowly do we understand exactly how it happened, and only near the end do we find out why. Now in their late 30s, the friends find themselves again ensnared in the murder of a friend, this time washed-up baseball star and failed restauranteur Bailey O'Doyle. The remaining three all claim innocence, both to police and each other, but it's just a matter of time before the divide-and-conquer strategy of Detectives Nichols and Stevens splits them apart.
William Mapother, cousin to Tom Cruise, plays the alpha male of the group. Josh Stamberg is a heart surgeon and as such functions as its conscience. Karl Bury is the auto dealer who proves the weak link, and Mapother decides he will be the sacrificial lamb to the detectives. Finally the heart surgeon explains exactly what happened back in the 80s, but the detectives are no closer to solving the O'Doyle murder.
The guest actors are all very effective in their roles, which are somewhat fuller than in the typical CI episode. Jeff Goldblum is in top form, which is to say, um, he plays, um, Jeff Goldblum better ... than ... anyone. Saffron Burrows, once you get past the eye-candy aspect, is a fine actress who, like Kathryn Erbe before her, serves mostly as foil to the male lead. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, best known as Tony Montana's sister in "Scarface" and holds the record for longest name ever for an Oscar-winning actor, only lasted one season on CI. Which is a shame because the captain role, like the DA role, became almost superfluous.
In all, a very good episode with a major plot twist at the end.
