Nathan and Bill observe the very large new sign outside the Mountie office in town that says, “Royal Canadian Mounted Police Department.”
At the saloon, Tom plays a song on the piano and sings. Rosemary and Lee enter and greet him. They beckon Lucas over to say hello to Tom, and they ask what brought Tom to town. Elizabeth tells them about Tom’s sales work, and Lee asks after a copy of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”
Outside, Allie and Angela sing together as Angela plays a ukulele; Tom and Elizabeth come upon them. Elizabeth introduces the girls to Tom, who tells them about how he’s scouting choirs. Angela explains how her mother is the director of their choir, and Allie says that Tom should scout them. Scout comes running over then with Nathan trailing behind, and Allie tells him about the choir news. Elizabeth introduces Tom to Nathan, and Allie and Angela leave to tell Minnie. Tom asks if Nathan knew Jack well, but Nathan never met Jack. Tom and little Jack leave to race, and Elizabeth tells Nathan about Tom visiting for Jack’s birthday. She notes that perhaps it’s hard for him to come back as he feels like he’s living in Jack’s shadow, which Nathan says he can relate to. Elizabeth tells Nathan that she doesn’t think of him being in anyone’s shadow, and she leaves to catch up with the other two.
At the doctor’s office, Faith helps Lily clean and bandage a cut on her knee. When Tom arrives, he says hello to Lily and asks to catch up with Faith later over lunch. Lily is invited, too.
Outside, Lee approaches Lucas who asks to see him. He tells Lee they need more bidders for the resort and since Lee knows the business, maybe he could help. Lee says he’ll start asking around today. As Lucas departs, he adds, “And one more thing…” Lee stops him and assures him that he doesn’t tell Rosemary everything.
At the café, Faith and Lily meet Tom for lunch. Minnie approaches the table and asks if Faith would like more coffee; she does, but Minnie doesn’t pour any; she just stares at Tom. Florence and Molly also stand close behind, staring at Tom. He asks if something is wrong, and Minnie introduces herself as the director of the Hope Valley choir. She heard from Angela about his choir scouting, and asks if they can audition. Tom tells them that the festival is only a few weeks away, and Molly and Florence interrupt that he hasn’t heard them yet. Faith tells Tom it sounds exciting, and Tom tells them there’s one spot left. He says he’ll call his boss, Mr. Sweeney, who has high standards, but perhaps they can audition to him over the phone.
At Lee’s office, he makes phone calls encouraging folks to place bids on the resort, to no avail.
Elizabeth and Rosemary head to an emergency Hope Valley choir meeting at the schoolhouse. The choir discusses rehearsing in time to audition that night, and they all agree to do it.
The choir gathers around the phone at the saloon and sings “This Little Light of Mine” as their rehearsal. Tom takes the phone after and asks what Mr. Sweeney thinks; they agree that there’s something special there, and they book the choir for the Salt Lake City festival. He tells them the next steps, which are taking down all their names and collecting the entry fee of $65, $5 each. Faith asks if they’ll need to pay for their own train rides down as well. Tom tells them that there is no pressure to do it but there are prizes, including a $300 prize for first place. Tomorrow is the deadline, so they’ll need to decide by then, and Florence and Ned offer to cover anyone’s fees who don’t have it.
At the Mountie office, Allie excitedly tells Nathan about Mr. Sweeney, the choir competition, and how she needs $5 for it. Nathan asks about who this Mr. Sweeney is, and Allie tells him how he’s a huge music promoter, and the choir is meeting tomorrow to finalize the plan.
In town, Lee and Lucas discuss the bids. Lee talked to three guys who would normally jump at this opportunity, but there are no takers. All were very vague to Lee about why they didn’t want to participate. Lucas suggests a local bid, but the only ones who would bid – himself, Lee, and Mike – all have conflicts of interest. Lucas tells Lee he’ll have to think of something.
At the café, the choir members collect the funds and notice they’re just missing one portion, Allie’s. Nathan enters and wonders what the rush is, and brings up other expenses like the train rides and accommodations. They discuss a fundraiser for those bits, but Elizabeth agrees with Nathan’s concerns about the speed of this and why they need to wire the money so quickly. Nathan gives them the $5, but he still has questions; he and Elizabeth leave to find Tom.
Nathan asks Elizabeth about Tom’s history; Nathan thinks maybe he’s overthinking things, but it’s his job to overthink. Elizabeth notes that Tom wouldn’t do something underhanded, and she asks Nathan to try not to be such a Mountie just this once. Tom collects the funds outside the saloon as Elizabeth and Nathan come with questions about the festival. Nathan asks who Mr. Sweeney is, and Tom tells them he’s a big impresario that everyone wants to work with. Nathan asks how long Tom has worked for him, and Tom says just a few months. Tom wonders what they’re really asking, and if they think that he’s once a screw up, always a screw up. Tom swears that everything is on the level and he’d never do anything to put Elizabeth at risk. Nathan says he’ll take Tom’s word for it, and Tom leaves to tell Mr. Sweeney the money is on its way.
As Rosemary waits for her ride, Lee asks Rosemary if it’s really worth it for her to go to Union City to speak with Pike’s mother. She also tells Lee not to be late picking Goldie up from daycare while she’s gone, and Lee assures her everything will be fine. Bill approaches saying that he will be joining Rosemary in Union City, but just then, Mrs. Hazel Pike exits a taxicab. She says that a lady reporter invited her there to Hope Valley as she’s trying to prove her son’s innocence.
Inside the office at The Valley Voice, Rosemary clarifies that she told Hazel over the phone that she was coming to visit her. Hazel tells Rosemary and Bill that her memory isn’t what it used to be, but it’s never been all that good. Rosemary asks about her statement that she can prove Clayton’s innocence; Hazel mentions how Clayton was her miracle baby. Mrs. Pike tells them that Clayton was with her the night of the election, helping her with her bad hip after she had fallen. Rosemary asks why Clayton would have confessed then, and Mrs. Pike thinks that Mounties forced him to because they needed someone to blame.
At the hotel, Edwin reviews records with Lucas as Henry enters. They discover that the Governor’s office has emergency funds they can use in this case and there is precedent for it. Henry notes that these are public funds, and Lucas says it will be temporary. Lucas asks Edwin to give them a moment; Henry worries about taking a gamble on this, concerned about what will happen if they don’t find someone to take it over. Lucas wants to ensure a profitable and prosperous future for the town, and Henry says that perhaps the best move is to walk away.
Back at the paper, Bill asks Mrs. Pike about Clayton’s view on the governor. As far as she knows, he voted for Lucas. Rosemary asks after her hip, and Mrs. Pike says a generous friend of Clayton’s that he met at mass paid for her surgery. She tells Bill that the friend donated the money a week before Clayton was arrested. Bill asks if Clayton ever did off-hours work for Bernhardt Montague, but Hazel assures them he was only a shift worker. Hazel does note that while she was in the hospital recovering from her hip, Mr. Montague sent her flowers.
At the mercantile, Tom makes a call to Mr. Sweeney as Florence worries over their readiness for the choir festival in Salt Lake City. Ned sings “Daisy, Daisy” to her to calm her nerves and they share a small dance and kiss. On the phone, Tom says that he just spoke to Mr. Sweeney yesterday and there must be some kind of misunderstanding. Tom hangs up and asks Ned if they wired the money to Mr. Sweeney yesterday, and they assure him they did.
At the Mountie office, Bill and Rosemary tell Nathan what they’ve learned. They think Pike was paid to take the fall; they believe that it’s clearly Montague who donated the money, sent Hazel flowers, and who Pike took the fall for. Nathan asks what they make of Mrs. Pike, and Rosemary says she’s quirky but honest, and Bill says he believes her. Nathan says he’ll try to call in a favor and see if he can get Clayton Pike transferred there for a night to speak with him.
At the schoolhouse, Ned and Florence perform “Daisy, Daisy” for the others in the choir. Joseph notes that Tom is late and they wonder why. Elizabeth leaves to see what’s keeping him; she asks Mike if he’s seen Tom, who tells her that Tom checked out 30 minutes ago. He had urgent business in Union City and wanted to catch the train.
Elizabeth finds Nathan outside his office as he mounts his horse. She tells him about Tom leaving, and he helps Elizabeth up onto his horse with him to go look for Tom at the station.
At Lucas’s office, Edwin hands Lucas a note and tells him that the Benson Hills Oil Company plans to file for bankruptcy. Lucas notes that this is hundreds of jobs, and Edwin stresses how it’s all the more important that the resort gets built or people won’t vote for him. Lucas says this is about families not being able to put food on their tables. Edwin tells Lucas that if he won’t consider Jeanette Aucoin’s bid, then there is only one other to consider – Montague’s. Lucas says no, and Edwin says they are out of options. Lucas picks up the phone to make a call, slams it down in frustration, and then makes another call to Union City Holdings to speak with Bernhardt Montague.
Elizabeth and Nathan rush into the train station and find Tom sitting there. He was going to board the train and had his ticket, but he stayed. All he ever wanted was for Jack to be proud of him. Nathan asks Tom what’s going on, and Tom relays that Mr. Sweeney took all the money that Tom had been sending him and ran with no forwarding address. Tom says that Sweeney is a con man who turned Tom into a con man, and Tom doesn’t know how to tell all the choirs. Elizabeth tells Tom he did the right thing by not running away. Tom says if Jack were here, he’d know what to do next. Elizabeth tells Tom they’re here and they’re going to help him.