 In a back alley in the Downtown east side, Da Vinci and Zack McNab investigate a fatal hit and run. During the course of the investigation, the on duty female police constable reminds Da Vinci that during one of his drunken sprees a few years back, he made a play for her but had not called her since that night, her and the incident Da Vinci only vaguely remembers. We later find out that the constable is Zack s daughter, Ramona. Simultaneously around the corner from the hit and run, Shannon, Leary and robbery detective Rose Williams investigate the shooting homicide of a convenience store clerk named Jim. Jim was a popular figure in the neighborhood, running tabs for his regular customers until they received their bi-weekly welfare cheques. Rose also mentions to Shannon and Leary that Jim had been robbed 4 times in past two months by a historically non-violent junkie named Lucas Ross, a kid originally from a stable upper middle class family. After it was determined that Lucas had previously broken into the store to steal cash to support his habit, Jim preferred to hand over a small amount of cash to Lucas than to go through the pain and cost of any property damage caused by a break-in. Despite these robberies, Lucas was one of Jim s regulars and treated him as such. The two investigations merge when the driver of the car is found, she being a high school friend of Lucas . From the driver s information, the investigators determine that Lucas is holed up in a padlocked abandoned building in the alley. Uncertain as to Lucas  mental state as well as whether he is armed and dangerous seeing as to Jim s shooting, the investigators are unsure what to do. Da Vinci, with Leary and Rose s support, takes matters into his own hands and negotiates with Lucas to come out of the building, to which Lucas replies through a young woman junkie also holed up in the building that he will come out peacefully after Da Vinci gives him a hit of dope. Despite Da Vinci s negotiations, Zack wants Shannon to make the decisions about what to do since he is the senior officer at the scene. Shannon nervously decides that he will give Lucas 5 minutes to come out of the building, after which he will call in the ERT. Meanwhile Da Vinci, with Leary s assistance, scores some dope for Lucas (the episode title comes from a statement made by Da Vinci to the dope dealer saying that Leary, after flashing his badge, will arrest him if he doesn t sell Da Vinci the dope: "what can I say, it s backwards day"). Da Vinci makes it back to the building with the dope before the arrival of the ERT to negotiate his way into the building successfully. True to their word to each other, Da Vinci gives Lucas the dope for his much needed hit and Lucas and Da Vinci exit the building peacefully, however not before Da Vinci makes Lucas tell the real story of the shooting and the hit and run.