Conviction

After Hayes and Wallace share a passionate night together, Hayes returns to reality and cautiously considers sticking her toe into relationship waters with Wallace. Simultaneously, she also tries to make amends for her bitter loss in the death penalty case of Earl Slavitt. Hayes implores the CIU team to aggressively pursue the case of Sophie Hausen, a young woman serving a life sentence for murdering a popular college basketball player, whom she accused of raping her. Meanwhile, Tess finally attempts to make things right in her friendship with Matty.

While Hayes and Wallace struggle to balance their professional and personal lives, they are summoned to a crime scene that fits the M.O. of the infamous "Black Orchid Killer." Is the latest murder the work of a copycat? Or is the man now in prison for the earlier crimes actually innocent? As the investigation accelerates, the CIU team, spearheaded by unlikely serial-killer expert Tess, closes in on a suspect who may have committed all the murders - but will it be too late?

Former President Morrison pays Hayes an unexpected visit and lobbies her (and CIU) to take on the case of Omar Abbas, a Muslim-American citizen held for years without trial in a military facility for allegedly planning a chemical attack on Manhattan. But taking on the federal war on terror is a hot-button issue, and Hayes and the CIU find themselves battling the authorities in their search for the truth. Meanwhile, just as Hayes and Wallace become more comfortable with their relationship, her father raises questions about the couple's long-term viability.

Hayes revisits the failed case of Gerald Harris from her days as a defense attorney - the very case where she met Wallace nearly a decade earlier. Harris was found guilty of murdering his wife despite Hayes' belief in his innocence due to Wallace unearthing Gerald's darkest secret. Meanwhile, a member of the CIU team is forced to revisit their illicit actions in the controversial Rodney Landon case. In the end, Hayes and Wallace's future, as well as that of the CIU team, hang in the balance.