The homicide unit investigates the whipping and lynching of a wealthy white advertising executive in a historic black section of Baltimore. It turns out that the killing may have been payback for race-related crimes committed by the dead man's ancestor, a Civil War-era slavery advocate. Elsewhere, neither Pembleton (Andre Braugher) nor Gharty (Peter Gerety) can figure out why Bayliss (Kyle Secor), who has implicitly announced his homosexuality, would be interested in Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi