Steven C. Nelson

While on spring break vacation in Mexico, Chip Rosatti, the son of a prominent San Francisco businessman, wins a free skydiving jump. Watching from the ground, two of his friends gaze up in horror as Chip leaps from the plane but fails to open his chute and plummets to his death. When Chip's body is examined at the morgue, local coroner Dr. Madero discovers some perplexing news: Chip Rosatti didn't die from hitting the ground -- rather, he drowned in mid-air. A call from the Mayor of San Francisco sends Monk to the Mexican vacation spot in order to figure out just what happened during that fall.

Christmas Eve finds the Roberts preparing to host a dinner party with Harriet ill. Mac awaiting the arrival of three Saudis who don’t observe the holiday and Harm getting way laid trying to fly an F-14 home in time for the dinner.

In part one of a two-part season finale, Jack and his team search for an office worker, Sydney Harrison (recurring guest star Marsha Dietlein Bennet), who disappeared from her building. Within hours of Sydney going missing, her employers receive a ransom note via e-mail demanding $50,000. The kidnapper is identified as Barry Mashburn (recurring guest star Tom Irwin), the husband of Sydney's former assistant, who died in the company's World Trade Center office during the terrorist attack. After a plan for the ransom exchange is devised, with Samantha undercover at the location, everything seems to be going well until Mashburn panics and turns the kidnapping into a volatile hostage crisis. Part 1 of 2

In part two of a two-part season finale, Jack's squad must determine the best course of action when Samantha is shot and possibly critically injured in a hostage situation. After the ransom drop for a woman who has disappeared goes dreadfully wrong, Samantha becomes trapped in a bookstore by the kidnapper, Barry Mashburn (recurring guest star Tom Irwin), who has discovered that she is an FBI agent. Jack successfully negotiates Samantha's release by substituting himself then continues to bargain on behalf of other hostages. Meanwhile, the team continues to search for Sydney Harrison (recurring guest star Marsha Dietlein Bennet), the missing woman. Part 2 of 2