Sam Coppola

At the wedding of Larry Boy's daughter, the 'boys' find out they're going to be indicted, and make a premature exit to get rid of incriminating evidence at home. Upset that he isn't getting the notoriety of other family members, an agitated Christopher has an ugly encounter with a bakery clerk.

Karen Smythe (Khandi Alexander) is a police officer who responds to a routine call with her partner, Mitch Murray (Jason Kolotouros), but the two get separated and Karen disappears in a warehouse where she is brutally raped and almost murdered.

In the Season Four premiere, four boys from West Baltimore--Michael, Namond, Randy and Dukie--play out their summer vacation in the streets as the fall school semester approaches. Having failed to capture a potentially valuable homing pigeon, the boys are stirred to action when Dukie is beaten up, and Randy concocts a retaliation plan against the rival gang. The action is slower at Bodie's corner, giving young Namond an excuse to take off early from his "summer job" as a runner. Meanwhile, Marlo has solved the problem that baffled Stringer Bell: how to maintain discipline--read: murders--without getting police attention. At the detail's office, Freamon and Sydnor press Pearlman to issue City Hall subpoenas, while Daniels's replacement, James Asher, surveys the blueprints to his dream house. With the mayoral race heading into its final weeks, Mayor Royce and his primary challenger, Tommy Carcetti, hit decidedly different campaign trails. Carcetti's deputy campaign manager, Norman Wilson, and his campaign guru, Theresa D'Agostino, try to keep their candidate focused, despite the odds. Prez preps for a new career in higher education, while McNulty turns down a promotion.

With a bounty on his head, Omar calls in a favor to Bunk. The election finally over, Royce and Carcetti make their peace, and contemplate their respective futures. At school, Prez 'tricks' his students into learning math; Namond finds that the old rules no longer apply; a disillusioned Cutty ponders his job future; and Randy is cleared to return to class. Marlo looks to 'smoke out' his pursuers, infuriating Herc, who begs Carver to help. Expecting the worst, Pearlman gets surprisingly good news from her new boss. Following some high-profile appearances, Daniels's star seems to be on the rise. Bubbles finds his rolling business, and relationship with Sherrod, sabotaged by both sides of the law. Finally, Greggs uses 'soft eyes' at an unsolved crime scene.

The law firm of Lockhart, Gardner and Bond sues a social networking site on behalf of a Chinese dissident, who posted an anonymous blog about democracy in China, and was jailed and tortured by the Chinese government when the site failed to protect his anonymity and turned over his IP address. Meanwhile, Eli gets a tip that he hopes will drive Childs out of the race, and Will and Diane hope to wrestle the firm away from Derrick Bond once and for all.