Note: The first season introduces two major groups of characters: the Baltimore Police Department and a drug dealing organization run by the Barksdale family. The season follows the police investigation of the latter over its 13 episodes. The investigation is triggered when, following the acquittal of D’Angelo Barksdale for murder after a key witness changes her story, Detective Jimmy McNulty meets privately with Judge Daniel Phelan. McNulty tells Phelan that the witness has probably been intimidated by members of a drug trafficking empire run by D’Angelo’s uncle, Avon Barksdale, having recognized several faces at the trial, most notably Avon’s second-in-command, Stringer Bell. He also tells Phelan that no one is investigating Barksdale’s criminal activity, which includes a significant portion of the city’s drug trade and several unsolved homicides. |