When the body of a young woman is found in the city of Besźel, Inspector Tyador Borlú (David Morrissey) of the Extreme Crime Squad is called to investigate the murder alongside Officer Lizbyet Corwi (Mandeep Dhillon). Although Detective Naustin (Dana Haqjoo) presumes her murder can be easily explained, Borlú notices strange similarities to an old case.

The young woman’s body was found at the Bulkya Docks – an area known for its close overlap with the city of Ul Qoma. Although Ul Qoma and Beszel occupy the same geographical space, the cities have a dangerous and volatile relationship with each other, and citizens are trained from childhood to unsee everything in the other city.

Commissar Gadlem (Ron Cook) thinks this is a case for Breach – the secret police who ruthlessly patrol all cross-border crime. Gadlem thinks someone else should take on the case, and that maybe it’s too personal for Borlú… But Borlú insists he can handle it.

Borlú receives a call from a friend of the dead girl, who identifies her as Mahalia Geary (Andrea Deck), an American student living in Ul Qoma. Yet Borlú starts to worry when the caller admits she is not phoning from Besźel, but that she is making an illegal cross-border call from Ul Qoma.

When Gadlem discovers that Borlú received an illicit phone call, he passes the case onto the Oversight Committee. Gadlem thinks the case is getting too dangerous for Borlú to investigate alone and wants to invoke Breach.

LV