The discovery of a kidnapped girl leads Detectives Benson and Stabler to her abductor, Saul Picard (played by Arye Gross), who is a violent, schizophrenic artist. As Detective Stabler prepares to take Saul into custody, he head butts Stabler, slamming his head into a car window which shatters on impact. As Stabler wakes up in the hospital room he is unable to see anybody around him. Novak must face her own dark past while attempting to convict Picard, whose reaction post-psychiatric treatment to his crimes complicates the case.