In the police world, a file is either "hot" or "cold". For a murder to be considered "hot", one must have a warm body and a suspect, opportunity and a motive, evidence and the will to prosecute. Without these, the file is passed down to the Cold Squad.

One of the most intriguing police dramas on the air, Cold Squad focuses on a team of police detectives who have the unenviable task of solving old, or "cold" murder cases. Fortunately, innovative forensic technology, DNA evidence and advances in psychological profiling, along with the passage of time, can shed new light on old facts. With the rising of Cold Squad's profile, and the introduction of a larger, province-wide task force comes a battle of wills for jurisdiction over the squad. Determined to maintain control of the unit she put on the map, Sergeant Ali McCormick (Julie Stewart), faces off with incoming Detective Frank Coscarella (Stephen McHattie). What makes this unlikely pair is their compassion for the victims and their obsession to bring killers to justice.

-- www.coldsquad.com

In the police world, a case is either "hot" or "cold". For a murder to be considered "hot," one must have a warm body, a suspect, opportunity, evidence. Without these, the case is stamped ‘unsolved‘ and the file is passed down to Cold Squad.

-- www.ctv.ca

In police lingo, a file is either "hot" or "cold." A "hot" murder file means there is a suspect with opportunity and motive, evidence and a will to prosecute. Without these attributes a file is considered "cold."

Cold Squad is a one-hour police crime-drama produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, about a team of Canadian police officers who investigate and solve cases that have been relegated to the "cold" file.

-- Kodak Motion Picture Imaging

An unconventional team of Vancouver police detectives re-opens old, unsolved murders known in the trade as "cold files." Headed by Sergeant Ali McCormick, the team uses innovative forensic and investigative techniques and skills to decipher these forgotten and abandoned criminal investigations. Secrets often get buried along with the corpse, and the Cold Squad digs in unusual places, usually with startling results.

-- www.penelopebuitenhuis.com/cold.html

In police parlance, "cold" murders involve unsolved crimes passed down the chain of command without benefit of a warm body, suspects, motives, opportunities, evidence and the will to prosecute. Each week, the Vancouver cop team covers the leads -- not to mention a variety of intrapersonal intrigues -- on the way to truth, justice and the Canadian Way.

-- Edmonton Journal

Cold Squad is convinced Drainie (J.W. Carroll) is the one who killed Osborne - they just can’t prove it. Harper (Matthew Bennett) and Nicco (Gregory Calpakis) pay a visit to a local firing range where Drainie used to be a regular, and find out his weapon of choice was a Remington 30-06. A Winchester 308 killed Osborne, but because you can fire the same calibre bullet out of either weapon, Harper thinks they may be onto something. After getting Laura (Jill Teed) to check the ballistics, they come up with nothing. The guns don’t match and the Squad’s back where they started. Nicco starts sniffing around places Drainie used to work and finds he has a less than admirable track record as an employee. Evidently, Drainie’s been fired from more than one job for sexual indiscretions, and not all of them have been with consenting adults. Meanwhile, Ali (Julie Stewart) and Mickey (Tamara Craig Thomas) decide to go back and interview Ken’s bunkmate, Rupert Hall (Ben Derrick) again. He remembers Drainie from Ambleton, as well as the fact that Drainie always had a soft spot for Osborne. Aside from all this, they still have nothing on Drainie, so Ali decides to tell Drainie he’s off the hook - for now at least. Cold Squad is backed into a corner. They know Drainie did it, just how do they prove it? Ali decides to give Roger (Don Thompson), Ken’s sponsor from AA, one more try. Last time, he gave them Sam’s name - maybe this time he’ll tell them why Sam was on the list, and why Ken was apologizing to him. At first, Roger won't budge, but eventually he gives it up. Drainie was sexually abusing Ken. This isn’t the information Cold Squad was hoping for: Osborne is starting to sound a little like the boy who cried wolf. First his grandfather’s abusing him, now Drainie? Just then, Nicco gets back to the Squad with the story on Drainie’s past, and his other illegal escapades with young boys. Maybe these accusations aren’t as far off as they seem. With this new information, a swat team raids Drainie’s apartment. They arrest Sam, search the apartment, and find a Winchester 308, the same type of gun used to kill Osborne. It looks like the Squad’s finally got their man. They get back to Cold Squad, bring Sam up on charges. To their surprise, Sean Ryerson (Colin Cunningham), the best and highest paid attorney in the city, is there and he’s been hired to defend Drainie. Questions immediately arise: who hired Ryerson? It can’t be Drainie, he can barely pay his rent, much less afford an attorney like Ryerson. Drainie’s out on bail in a matter of hours, but not before Ali can get a couple of undercover guys to keep an eye on him on the outside. Laura returns with bad news. The ballistic results from Drainie’s gun are in, and they don’t match up. Frustrated and confused, the Squad is beginning to wonder if all this is really worth it. Nothing’s making sense, and the leads are going nowhere. Just then, the undercover guys stop in with photos of Drainie and Karen Osborne in a heated discussion on the street. The Squad races to Drainie’s apartment, only to find it’s a raging inferno, and there are two dead bodies inside - Karen and Drainie. When they get back to Cold Squad, Laura informs them it wasn’t the fire that killed them, it was the bullets in both their heads. It looks like a murder-suicide. Karen killed Drainie, then shot herself. While mulling over the events of the past day, Christine (Joely Collins) enters, visibly shaken. She has news, and it gets even weirder: Drainie is Karen’s father, making Ken Sam’s grandson. The Squad didn't expect this. Ali decides to go back to Drainie’s torched apartment, and see if there is anything else there of interest. She opens Drainie’s mailbox, and finds a phone bill. And even though she shouldn’t open it, she does. There’s one number that’s been called over 20 times over the last couple days. Ali picks up her phone, dials the number, and a voice on the other end answers. “Hello, you have reached the office of Desmond Cage. Please leave a message.” And with that, the Ambleton gets a whole lot bigger.

-- www.coldsquad.com

When the death of a former student is linked to an existing cold file, the squad suspect the two murderers might be the same person, can they save the day before the killer kills again.

-- www.tvtome.com

Harper struggles to build a case against a murder suspect, after an investigation that lasted 18 month long.

-- www.tvtome.com

Nicco (Gregory Calpakis) and Billie’s (Crystal Buble) relationship is becoming more and more complicated as Nicco is forced to deal with the fact that Billie is still working as a prostitute. It’s also becoming clear that Billie’s recreational drug use is actually more of a fulltime habit. When Billie returns home, she finds her pimp Andre (John Tench) in her apartment. He scolds her for sleeping with Nicco and then gives her the beating of a lifetime. Later that day, a battered and bruised Billie shows up at Cold Squad. In a rage, Nicco goes after Andre, and beats him to a pulp. Meanwhile, back at Cold Squad, Ali (Julie Stewart) and Mickey (Tamara Craig Thomas) are grilling Desmond Cage (Timothy Webber) about the fact that he uses the same “Bob’s your uncle” adage found in Michelle Ripley’s (Allie Safarik) letters they believe to be forged. Cage brushes them off, and says they’re grasping at straws. Frustrated, Ali meets with Sean Ryerson (Colin Cunningham), and tries to get him to admit it was Cage who was paying Sam Drainie’s (Mike Busswood) and Raymond Myer’s (David Bloom) legal bills. Ryerson refuses to give out that information, but with a wink, mentions he has a very talkative ex-secretary who probably would. Ali meets with Linda (Melynda Jean Boldy), Ryerson’s former secretary, who confirms Cage hired Ryerson to defend Drainie and Myers. Nicco takes Billie to a motel, so she can rest and recover for the night. But later, when Nicco comes back to check on her, he finds her slumped over the toilet, overdosed on heroin. In a panic, he rushes her to the hospital and she is revived. The next morning, Billie and Nicco have a heart-to-heart talk and Billie admits she called Andre for the drugs. Realizing the extent of Billie’s addiction, Nicco decides he’s going to get Billie clean if it’s the last thing he does. He spends several days locked in his apartment with Billie while she begs and pleads for a hit, but Nicco refuses. Shelley Mack (Ellie Harvie) is picked up for passing bad checks, and booked on charges. Cold Squad calls her in for questioning because Shelley is also another former student from the alternative school. She tells them she remembers the “Love Shack” - they used to party there while they were students. What’s even more interesting is that Cage was a regular at these “parties.” They bring Cage back in to Cold Squad and confront him with the facts that they have: how he paid legal bills for two pedophiles; the phone bill linking him to Sam Drainie; the letters; and now an eye witness who says Cage used to party with underage girls. Cage doesn’t flinch, but when they tell him they’re able to trace the set of car keys they found in the shack, Cage begins to sweat. He claims Sam Drainie introduced him to the girls and one night something went wrong, and Drainie killed Michelle. When Billy found out, Drainie killed him too. Cage claims he never came forward because he was afraid of the consequences of what Drainie would do to him. The story sounds believable, but something just doesn’t sit right with Ali and the rest of the Squad. Meanwhile, Harper (Matthew Bennett) has found a space for Billie in a recovery house. Nicco’s grateful, but when he calls Billie to share the news, he realizes she’s not at home. Nicco races to his apartment, only to find Billie gone, and his belongings stolen. He rushes to Billie’s apartment to find her in a compromising position with Andre. Billie is high as a kite, and can barely register what’s going on. As Andre laughs at Nicco, all the demons that have haunted Nicco since Andrea Wilkie (Melanie Blackwell) killed herself are forced to the surface. In a rage, Nicco grabs Andre, drags him across the room and throws him out the window to his death on the sidewalk below. Later, at the scene, Casey (Michael David Simms) from Homicide inspects the scene. In an unspoken way he lets Nicco know he’ll sweep this whole incident under the rug, but not before he hands over his badge to Pawlachuck (Garry Chalk). The Squad is stunned - Nicco is no longer a cop. The next day at Cold Squad, Shelley shows up at Ali’s desk. She remembers who the other man who used to party at the “Love Shack.” She drops a newspaper on Ali’s desk. On the cover is a photo of Premier William Steede (Andrew Airlie) and Desmond Cage. Ali explains that she knows about Cage and his involvement in the alternative school investigation. But Shelley’s not talking about Cage - the other man was Premier Steede.

-- www.coldsquad.com

As the Squad makes progress with the alternative school case, Nicco's personal life spins out of control, can he hold it together to help solve the case.

-- www.tvtome.com