From Introduction: As the saying goes, there’s a thin blue line separating our civilized society from descending into chaos, and it consists of the men and women of law enforcement. Popular television dramas from as far back as Jack Webb's Dragnet in the fifties through to the groundbreaking series Hill Street Blues in the eighties, Law & Order (and its spin-offs) beginning in the nineties, and more recent dramas such as The Shield and The Wire have all sought to portray this struggle against crime and lawlessness. Similarly, shows like CSI:, Without A Trace, and Criminal Minds expand the law enforcement operation from off the street to the forensics laboratory and fields such as criminal psychology. This genre has almost limitless inspiration, from television, film, and fiction, to the newspapers that hit the newsstands every day. When the storylines cross from simple criminal investigation to the lives and loves of those who stand shoulder to shoulder against society’s miscreants, it becomes the perfect campaign setting for a modern day Cortex System game. User note: This setting material is culled from Cortex System Role Playing Game and is freely available on the MWP website.