Alex Hernandez

Sixteen year-old Avery Capshaw's (guest star Fiona Robert) parents report her kidnapped, and the SVU finds signs of a party turned violent. Her boyfriend, Manny Montero (Juan Castano), is a scholarship student from the Projects, and though his family swears he's on the right track, Amaro (Danny Pino) suspects he's involved with a dangerous gang. When Manny refuses to talk, the cops are forced to arrest him, but the violence only escalates. Meanwhile, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) is sworn in as the SVU's new sergeant.

The sadistic William Lewis (Schreiber) escapes from prison, arbitrarily killing as he goes. Concerned for Benson's safety, a security detail is assigned to her 24/7, but it doesn't take long for Lewis to get her back where he left off. With time running out, Benson must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice in order to save the life of a child.

Dr. Manning (Torrey DeVitto) and Dr. Rhodes (Colin Donnell) separately treat complicated cases involving sick babies, only to uncover that the two cases could actually be intertwined. Elsewhere, Dr. Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) and Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) treat a homeless man with an upbeat disposition who sheds some valuable insight that prompts one of the doctors to learn a thing or two along the way. Dr. Choi (Brian Tee) has a Navy corpsman follow him for the day as they deal with the toll of gang violence in the city, while Dr. Reese (Rachel DiPillo) tries to understand the delicate balance required in her new position.

When Red Rock finally opens the doors to its new neurosurgery center and Nic is forced to work alongside Cain again, she, along with the rest of the staff, discover that the center is not everything that was promised. Mina and The Raptor work together with a new surgeon on a heart transplant that has an unexpected result.

A renowned pediatric surgeon is called over to Chastain for an extremely difficult surgery on a newborn, but when she arrives, The Raptor and Devon realize she is not fit for surgery, resulting in a situation more complicated than they could have imagined. Meanwhile, a Dolly Parton drag queen is admitted to the ER after collapsing on stage.