Andy Powers

Residents of a Lower East Side apartment are startled when an intruder breaks in during the middle of the night. It turns out to be "Granny Doe" - an elderly woman who can't remember where she is. Granny has been burned and possibly raped. But she isn't much help when Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) question her due to her Alzheimer's disease, which has left her with severe short-term memory loss. Eventually, the detectives discover her identity by researching past tenants of the apartment building. Their victim is Bess Sherman (Jane Powell), who is in her 80's. According to a woman who previously lived in the apartment, Bess used to sneak into the apartment in the middle of the night when she was a young girl. Apparently, she had a "funny uncle." Bess was living at Jubilee Towers; an upscale assisted living facility for adults, but had recently been released to the custody of her son, Joe Sherman (Jay Thomas).

Alicia and Will deal with their growing sexual tension and Diane and Kurt McVeigh continue their flirtation. At the same time, Alicia defends a college student accused of killing her sorority sister while under the influence of a sleep aid.

Danny must determine who murdered a man when multiple women who worked for him all take credit for it.

Lonely, Carter struggles with his unfulfilled dreams in the wake of his girlfriend's departure--and lurches towards a dangerous temporary solution. New doctor Abby deals with resentful nurses and tends to a tearful, injured young woman kidnapped from Mexico and forced into sexual slavery. Meanwhile, Kovac makes a confession to a fleeing Sam. Neela's domineering, old-fashioned Indian parents arrive and are upset that she abandoned her Michigan medical assignment. Later, Carter treats an Iraqi war veteran who was disfigured in combat; Weaver suggests to new intern Ray (new series star Shane West) that he tone down his alternative-punk look in deference to frightened patients; and two staffers recover from their injuries.

After 10 years at Chicago's County General Hospital, Attending Physician Dr. John Carter (series star Noah Wyle) has risen to a role of respect and moral leadership in the emergency room. His recently graduated colleague Abby Lockhart (series star Maura Tierney) proudly dons a doctor's white lab coat for the first time. Newly promoted to chief of staff, Dr. Kerry Weaver (series star Laura Innes) remains as tough as ever, but chinks have appeared in her armor, especially after the loss of her life partner and the resulting bitter custody battle over their son. Attending Physician Dr. Luka Kovac (series star Goran Visnjic) carries on a complicated romance with streetwise, seasoned nurse Samantha Taggart (series star Linda Cardellini), whose 10-year-old son, Alex (recurring guest star Oliver Davis), looks up to Kovac as a role model, friend and, sometimes, substitute father.