When folks think of Northern California's cities, they usually think of San Francisco's charming Victorian homes and clanging cable cars. Just across the bay is another thriving metropolis that doesn't get as much press as its famous neighbor, the city of Oakland. With the confluence of rail, water and road transportation networks in the Oakland area, the city served as an economic crossroads for the bay area for many years. As the economy changes and the area with it, the expected urban problems arise. As a big city, Oakland has seen its share of trauma. To spend an hour in the emergency room at Alameda County Medical Center is to experience both the lowest depths of despair and the heroic heights of success. Renowned in the medical profession for the high quality of its emergency care despite its budget constraints, Highland's emergency room is a well-oiled machine with a dedicated and talented staff of medical personnel. The staff handles a multitude of cases within the E.R., which services as triage, waiting room, examination room, mental hospital, dormitory, jail, safe house and home. In this episode, the emergency staff takes pride in their ability to juggle the high volume of cases that come their way, including: a man shot by his own father; a 19-year-old boy stabbed in a street fight with a linoleum tile cutter; a teenager injured in an accident after falling asleep at the wheel; a young man making his third trip to the emergency room for a gunshot wound; and a 15-year-old boy knocked unconscious while playing football.