Four men in red ties, the hotel’s enforcers, enter the bar and accuse Holland of being unregistered. Adam steps in with authority, adds her to his guest list, and sends the men away. Adam tells Holland that as his guest, she must stay with him for 24 Regal hours.

Adam takes Holland to his penthouse suite. Holland notices a framed photo of Adam with a man he identifies as his estranged brother, Mason Bishop, before setting the frame face down. Holland recognizes Mason as the man she saw on the mezzanine at the Hollywood Roosevelt.

Adam has heard rumors naming Holland as the girl with the Alchemical Heart. She denies it and reveals the Watch Man warned she will die by 11:59 pm unless she finds it. Sobered, Adam agrees to help, saying January would want him to protect her. Holland insists they find the Watch Man.

Holland and Adam leave the Regal, driving to the glamorous Beverly Hills Hotel. In the oppressive heat, the hotel’s exotic plants melt like wax in the sun. At Bungalow 22, Adam gains entry by stating he is Mason Bishop’s brother.

Inside a room crowded with plants, they meet the Watch Man and his aide, Ernest. The Watch Man greets Holland as if he expected her, with three teapots prepared. He pours each a specific tea and begins to speak about her father, Ben Tierney.

The Watch Man explains how he predicted the early death of Holland’s father, Ben Tierney. To prolong his life, Tierney had to find the Alchemical Heart and give it to one of two devils. Tierney found the Heart but chose not to place this power in the devils’ hands.

As Adam sips his tea, he falls asleep, drugged. The Watch Man then tells Holland that the devils were Adam and Mason. He hands Holland a sealed envelope from her father. Time freezes, and blood trickles from the Watch Man’s forehead. When time resumes, Adam wakes with no memory of what happened.

Adam confronts Holland in a vacant suite, and she tells him what the Watch Man revealed to her. Adam admits that he and Mason created the devil persona and encouraged people to believe in it. This allowed Adam and Mason to gain influence and power in Hollywood. They invented urban legends such as the myth that buying the devil a Sidecar allows one to make a deal with him. They also spread the rumor that the famous actor Natalia West died young because she reneged on an agreement with the devil. When Adam and Mason’s father found out about their activities, he threatened to deprive Mason, the eldest son, of the magical ability that he was due to inherit. However, Mason killed their father and stole his ability. He also committed several other murders in his role as the devil.

Adam explains that he found a way to arrest Mason’s ability, but Mason wants the Alchemical Heart so that the can to unleash his power. Holland recalls that Jake was hired by someone who used the distinctive black-and-gold branding associated with the devil. Assuming that Jake’s employer was Mason, she chooses to trust Adam.

Holland opens the envelope that her father left with the Watch Man and finds more pages from her father’s screenplay, Alchemy of Secrets. A scene shows a character playing Scrabble with the Watch Man. She deciphers the letters JME as Jericho Monroe Entertainment, her father’s old studio.

Holland proposes they go to JME next, explaining her friend Cat works there. As they plan, the suite door is opened by its legitimate guests. Noting how Adam immediately placates the irate couple, Holland suspects his magical ability is irresistible charm.

In the lobby, Adam spots people he suspects are Bank agents. He distracts them by kissing Holland, then hustles her into a stolen car. As they speed away, Holland’s vision blurs; she sees Adam flicker into Gabe, and her nose bleeds. She looks down and realizes she is wearing sneakers she does not remember changing into, revealing a memory gap.

At 3:33 pm, Holland and Adam arrive at JME and meet Cat, who gets them onto the lot. Cat mentions their friend Chance is meeting with director Vic VanVleet. When Holland asks to visit her father’s old bungalow, Cat grows uneasy.

Adam touches Cat’s arm, redirecting her memories and making her believe she must leave. Cat departs, dazed. Holland sees Adam’s ability is not charm; he erases and rewrites memories.

Holland confronts Adam, who insists he has never used his memory-erasing ability on her. They walk toward Bungalow 17, where Ben Tierney once worked. An orange grove and a hand-painted “Free Oranges” sign flood Holland with memories of her father. Peering through a window, she sees Vic VanVleet in conversation with her friend Chance Garcia.

Holland intercepts Chance and reveals she is Ben Tierney’s daughter, asking for help. He agrees to distract Vic for 15 minutes. Inside Bungalow 17, Holland finds a photo of her father with a young Vic and realizes the director is her father’s former fiancée.

Hidden behind the frame, Holland discovers a prop department hold slip for a project titled Alchemy of Secrets. The slip contains a cryptic instruction for a prop: It must go to “someone who needs it but doesn’t want it” (249). Before they can search further, Vic returns and confronts them.

Vic recognizes Holland, insults her mother, and threatens to call the police. Adam uses his ability on Vic, subduing the situation. He emerges with golf cart keys, and they drive across the lot to the props warehouse.

Inside, they meet Tom, the head of props. Tom recognizes Ben Tierney’s name and recalls Ben’s last visit, when he made an unusual request.