Ray stops by The Mistletoe to ask Emily for help inspiring his event’s chef with Victorian Christmas ideas. Emily agrees and later visits the venue to drop off her vintage cookbooks. She tells Ray she’d like to book an official “consultation” with him soon.
At the restaurant, tensions run high. Jason fumes that Danny still hasn’t paid him for construction work. Ray introduces Emily to Danny and his wife Lauren, who are struggling with budget issues. Danny also introduces her to Carrie, the sommelier, and warns her to play nice with their temperamental chef, Jean Marc. But Jean Marc brushes Emily off, uninterested in her old cookbooks. Emily later spots Danny and Ray in a heated argument.
Over coffee at Sue’s Diner, Emily and Sam catch up. Sam gets a call; there’s been a murder. He rushes off to the scene, where Danny has been found dead.
Emily goes to see Ray and notices his hand is bruised. He shrugs it off as “work hazards.” When she asks about Chimera, he assures her he’s been discreet. Ray gets a call from Lauren, who tells him about Danny’s death. He immediately cancels his meeting with Emily.
Haunted by the news, Emily flashes back to her past life as “Grace,” part of a hacker collective led by Aaron. Together, they stole an oil tycoon’s fortune to fund ocean cleanup efforts. After the hack, Aaron smirked, saying the billionaire would never forget the name Chimera.
Sam questions Lauren about Danny’s death. He wonders if Danny got into a fight before he died. Lauren insists Danny wasn’t violent and had no enemies. She asks if Sam plans to shut down the restaurant during the investigation.
At The Mistletoe, Violet quizzes Emily on Christmas trivia for the upcoming Elf’s Trivia Night. Sam pops in to update Emily about his talk with Lauren. Emily mentions she’d seen Danny arguing with both Jason and Ray.
Later that night, Emily comes home to find Ray waiting in her living room. He tells her he knows the cops will start asking questions soon and that’s bad for someone in his line of work. He swears he had nothing to do with Danny’s murder, though he admits they fought over money. Desperate, he asks to hide out at her place. Reluctantly, she agrees.
The next morning, Ray makes her breakfast but she quickly hides him when Sam unexpectedly stops by. Sam says Ray has gone missing and asks if she’s seen him. Emily covers.
Emily visits the restaurant to meet with Jean Marc but runs into Lauren, who introduces her to Monica, now helping manage things. Jean Marc, suddenly enthusiastic, agrees to the Victorian feast idea. Carrie enters, and she and Jean Marc trade angry barbs.
Sam arrives mid-meeting and freezes when he sees Monica, his ex-wife and Violet’s mother. He awkwardly introduces her to Emily.
Back at home, Ray asks Emily if there are any suspects. She tries to convince him to turn himself in, but he refuses. She hates keeping secrets from Sam.
Another flashback: Grace (Emily) grows suspicious of a van parked outside with a satellite dish. She warns Aaron, but he insists they’re protected. When she finds out he framed their teacher for the school bank hack years earlier, he coolly says he’s always taken care of her. Grace snaps back that she didn’t do it.
Meanwhile, Monica arrives at The Mistletoe to surprise Violet, and they spend the day together.
At the restaurant, Lauren tells Sam that Ray was the one who introduced her to Danny. Sam asks if their arguments ever turned physical, but Lauren defends Ray, saying he’d never hurt Danny.
Monica pressures Violet about applying to law school, citing her contacts at her old alma mater. Overwhelmed, Violet excuses herself.
Emily later runs into Sam at the restaurant and asks if there are any updates. She mentions that Monica dropped by the shop. Sam admits he wishes he’d been there to see them reconnect.
While poking around the office, Emily notices documents showing Lauren owns 100% of the restaurant. Carrie catches her snooping and says she and Lauren rarely agree on anything.
As Emily prepares to leave, she sees Lauren and Jean Marc in an intimate embrace. Confronting him, she learns he and Lauren were romantically involved, and Danny knew; they’d been separated. Jean Marc says Danny refused to sign the divorce papers.
Later at Sue’s Diner, Emily spots Jason outside. She confronts him about seeing him with Danny. Jason confesses he regrets ever taking the job. His crew is rebelling, tools are missing, and he just wants to get paid and walk away.
Inside, Emily bumps into Monica, who asks about her and Sam. Monica insists she only wants Sam to be happy. When Sam arrives for dinner with Monica, Emily quietly slips out.
At home, Ray tells Emily he’s found somewhere else to stay.
The next day, Emily fills Sam in about her talk with Jason. Sam asks what she and Monica discussed. Emily admits Monica asked about their relationship and she avoided answering. Sam shares new evidence: they found a glove with Ray’s blood in the back of Danny’s car. Emily’s reaction gives away too much, and Sam realizes she knows something. He reminds her they promised no more secrets.
Emily takes Sam back to her house, revealing Ray is hiding there. Ray admits he hit Danny but insists Danny never fought back. He just took a phone call. Sam presses him about Danny’s bloody knuckles. Ray has no answer. Sam decides not to arrest him on the spot, as long as he stays put.
Later, Sam tells Emily that Ray’s story checks out but warns that charges could still come. Emily pieces together that the call Danny took was to the restaurant where Jean Marc works.
In another flashback, Grace hacks into Aaron’s computer and discovers something shocking.
Emily becomes consumed by the thought of Danny’s final call. She recalls a detail from Jean Marc’s earlier story, something that didn’t add up. Why lie? And what was he hiding?
Determined to find out, Emily goes to confront Jean Marc about his résumé. Sam arrives at the same time with the same idea. He tells her to wait outside and goes in first.
Inside, Sam calls out for Jean Marc, no answer. Emily tries calling Sam’s phone, but it’s no use: Sam has been struck with a wine bottle and dragged away.