Police scramble for witnesses after a young man is attacked and killed in a wealthy area of Tulsa, Oklahoma. To get to the bottom of this shocking crime they must discover the identity of the young man and find out who wanted him dead. In medicine, they call it the 'critical hour.' In criminal investigations, they call it 'the first 48 hours'. Ask any detective - they will tell you that if they don't have a lead, a suspect or an arrest within 48 hours, their chances of solving the case are cut in half. In a visual style that feels more like a TV drama than a reality show, The First 48 follows homicide detectives during these initial critical hours as they race against time to solve their cases. Every hour-long programme follows various detectives from select homicide teams as they track breaking cases, each with a running clock that builds pace as the 48 hours inexorably expires.