After famous astronaut Marga Janssen's corpse is found afloat in the waters of Battery Park, Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson initially believe the murder is linked to a string of serial rapes. Upon further investigation, this theory is proven false when their suspect's alibi checks out. At a dead end, Detective Stabler turns to his old mentor and former colleague of Janssen's, NASA astronaut Dick Finley to shed some light on the case. Finley's advice exposes several more suspects, but possibly takes the detectives further from the truth.