One morning after the rain in the late 1970s, the city woke up in the fresh air.However, beneath this peaceful surface, a thrilling kidnapping case is brewing.In this incident, a mentally ill kidnapper took hostages and all he asked was to speak to his wife.Faced with this difficult situation, the local police were helpless and invited FBI special agent Holden Ford.

With his rich experience and keen insight, Holden learned from the kidnapper's wife the real reason for the kidnapper's crime - he suffered from mental illness and had been off medication for a long time.However, when Holden tried to communicate with the kidnapper further, the kidnapper chose to commit suicide.This incident made Holden feel guilty, but his boss Shepard spoke highly of his performance and appointed him as a lecturer in the negotiation class of the FBI Teaching Department.

Despite the popularity of Holden's courses, he harbored an inner desire to delve deeper into criminal motivations.By chance, he overheard Les Rasman's criminal psychology course and became very interested in it.After the class, he had an in-depth exchange with Rasman, and both parties reached a consensus: Today's police have serious deficiencies in understanding the perpetrators' criminal motives.

Just as Holden was immersed in his exploration of the criminal mind, his career suffered a setback.His boss Sheppard rejected his request to study criminal psychology in depth and instead transferred him to the University of Virginia to work on police recruitment.Faced with this sudden change, Holden felt deeply disappointed.

However, fate is always full of twists and turns.When Holden was frustrated, he met Bill Tench from the Behavioral Science Department.Bill invited him to join his teaching tour team to teach FBI courses and exchange experiences.Holden readily agreed, and the two began a journey full of challenges and exploration.

Their first stop was an Iowa police station.Here, Holden and Bill try to teach the police that by analyzing the criminal behavior of the perpetrators, they can infer their experiences and psychological state.However, this view was not recognized by the police and instead attracted cynicism.Faced with doubts, Holden decided to teach using the case of serial killer Charles Manson.He believes that Charles's tragic childhood experience was a key factor that led him to become a murderer.However, this view was also opposed by the police.A senior police officer pointed out that Charles' criminal behavior was the reason why he was locked up, not his experience.

After the lecture, Holden and Bill unexpectedly met the senior police officer while dining in the restaurant.It turns out that the police are seeking their help, and a puzzling murder of a mother and son puts them in a new challenge.Although the two detectives had no clue about the case, they still decided to try their best to help the police solve the case.

In the process, Holden once again expressed to Bill his insistence on studying criminal motives.He believes that only by deeply understanding the psychology of the perpetrators can the police solve crimes more efficiently.However, Bill believed that this kind of research would lead people astray and rejected Holden's request.