In a flashback, Tracy drives to Cedar Grove and visits the home of Carol Holt, the widow of the town’s former mechanic. She seeks information from Carol’s husband, Harley, about his old service records, hoping they might contain details relevant to Sarah’s disappearance. Carol informs Tracy that Harley died of cancer six months earlier, dashing Tracy’s hopes of speaking with him directly.

However, Carol reveals that Harley was meticulous about record-keeping and never disposed of any business documents. She tells Tracy that all of Harley’s old business records from his service station remain stored in their garage, potentially containing the information that Tracy needs for her investigation.

Back in the present, unable to sleep in her Seattle apartment, Tracy contemplates her developing relationship with Dan, who recently invited her to dinner. Accompanied by her cat, Roger, she logs into the Homicide Investigation Tracking System to search for murders with similarities to the Nicole Hansen case. After narrowing thousands of cases down to 43 potential matches, she spends an hour reviewing the files.

Despite her thorough examination of the cases, Tracy finds no promising leads that might help solve the Hansen murder. Frustrated by the lack of progress, she closes her laptop and remains haunted by the unsolved case.

While driving across the 520 floating bridge with Kins, Tracy receives a phone call from Dan. He informs her that prosecutor Vance Clark has unexpectedly filed his opposition to House’s petition for post-conviction relief two weeks earlier than anticipated. Citing the urgent need to work on the case, Dan cancels their planned dinner date for that evening.

After hanging up, Tracy feels uncertain about Dan’s true reasons for canceling their dinner. She updates Kins on this significant legal development in the House case, which adds pressure to their ongoing efforts to secure a new trial for the convicted man.

Working late in his office, Dan reflects on his childhood friendship with Tracy and acknowledges his growing romantic feelings for her. He reviews Vance Clark’s opposition brief and notes that House’s original defense attorney, DeAngelo Finn, performed poorly during the original trial. As Dan works through the legal documents, the reception bell rings unexpectedly, and his dogs begin barking loudly.

Wary of the unexpected late-night visitor, Dan grabs a baseball bat as a weapon before cautiously heading to the door. The timing of the visit, combined with the escalating tensions surrounding the House case, makes Dan suspicious of whoever has arrived at his office.

Dan finds his dogs cornering a man who introduces himself as George Bovine. Bovine explains that Sheriff Calloway called to inform him that Dan was seeking a new trial for Edmund House. Bovine reveals a deeply personal connection to the case: House violently raped his daughter Annabelle 30 years ago, before Sarah’s disappearance.

Bovine shows Dan disturbing photographs of his daughter’s injuries from the attack and describes the lasting psychological trauma that the assault inflicted on his entire family. He pleads with Dan to drop the case, warning that House is an extremely dangerous man who belongs in prison for the safety of the community. Despite Bovine’s emotional appeal, Dan maintains his position that House deserves a fair trial, and Bovine leaves the office.

Weeks later, Tracy’s investigative team, including Detectives Del and Ron Mayweather, reports no progress in the Nicole Hansen murder case. Sergeant Williams warns Tracy that a television report by journalist Maria Vanpelt has created a public-relations crisis for the department. Tracy is again summoned to a meeting with Captain Nolasco, who confronts her with angry emails from the public criticizing her involvement in the House case.

Nolasco presents Tracy with a prepared statement that would forbid her from participating in any House proceedings, which she has no intention of signing. When Tracy questions the meaning behind the statement, Nolasco delivers stunning news: The Court of Appeals has granted House’s petition for a new hearing. Shocked by this development, Tracy immediately rushes to call Dan with the significant legal victory.

A preliminary hearing takes place in the temporary chambers of Judge Burleigh Meyers, a respected, no-nonsense judge brought out of retirement specifically to preside over this controversial case. To avoid creating a media circus, only essential personnel are present in the courtroom. Judge Meyers makes clear his intention to move the matter forward expeditiously and efficiently.

Prosecutor Vance Clark moves to have Tracy excluded from the courtroom, arguing that she is a potential witness in the case. Dan successfully argues for Tracy’s right to be present as a family member of the victim, and Judge Meyers denies Clark’s motion. The formal evidentiary hearing is scheduled to begin the following Monday.

Kins informs Tracy that the Hansen case has officially been transferred to the Cold File Division, effectively ending active investigation efforts. Tracy visits DeAngelo Finn, House’s elderly and frail original defense attorney. Finn proves cryptic and evasive, refusing to clearly answer whether he defended House to the best of his ability and warning Tracy that some questions are better left unanswered.

Later, as Tracy and Dan discuss the case at his house, a shotgun blast suddenly shatters the front window. Tracy immediately tackles Dan to the floor for protection and then grabs her gun and runs outside. A truck speeds away from the scene; she is unable to see the license plate but notices that the truck has a broken left brake light. When she cautiously returns inside, she discovers that Rex, Dan’s dog, is bleeding heavily from buckshot wounds sustained in the attack.

Tracy calls 911 to report the shooting and provides a description of the suspect’s truck, while simultaneously driving Dan and the wounded Rex to the Pine Flat Veterinary Hospital. After they arrive and Rex is rushed inside for emergency treatment, Sheriff Calloway appears in the hospital parking lot. Tracy tells Calloway that the shooting was clearly intended as a warning to back off the House case.

The veterinarian soon emerges with good news, reporting that Rex’s wounds are superficial and that he will make a full recovery. Relieved by this prognosis, Dan tells Tracy that rather than intimidating him, the attack has made him more committed than ever to seeing the House case through to its conclusion.

On the morning of the crucial hearing, Tracy drives through heavy snow to reach the Cascade County Courthouse. Outside the building, she is immediately mobbed by reporters, including television journalist Maria Vanpelt. Inside the ceremonial courtroom—the same courtroom used for House’s original trial 20 years earlier—Tracy observes Dan and prosecutor Vance Clark making their final preparations.

House’s uncle Parker enters the courtroom, and Tracy briefly approaches him to apologize for putting him through this ordeal again. House himself is then led into the courtroom, physically changed by his years of imprisonment and wearing a bemused expression. Judge Meyers enters, formally calls the court to order, and instructs Dan to begin presenting his case for post-conviction relief.

Dan calls Sheriff Calloway as his first witness in the hearing. Calloway testifies about discovering Sarah’s abandoned truck and his immediate suspicion that House was responsible for her disappearance. Under Dan’s methodical questioning, serious inconsistencies in the original investigation begin to emerge. Calloway admits that he never properly verified a crucial tip from a witness named Ryan Hagen and cannot produce any official record of Hagen’s reported phone call.

As the questioning continues, Calloway grows increasingly angry and defensive on the witness stand, earning a sharp rebuke from Judge Meyers for his behavior. Under pressure, Calloway admits that he used a deliberate ruse during the investigation, falsely claiming that a witness had seen Sarah in House’s truck, which ultimately led to House’s unrecorded confession. Dan concludes his examination by having Calloway mark the location of Sarah’s grave on a detailed topographical map.

Dan calls Parker as his next witness, who testifies about finding scratches on House the morning after Sarah’s disappearance but definitively states that there were no plastic bags in the truck at that time. Dan then calls retired crime scene investigator Margaret Giesa, who provides detailed testimony establishing the chain of custody for the crucial evidence: the earrings and hair samples found during the original investigation.

After court adjourns for the day, Deputy Armstrong escorts Tracy past the crowd of reporters. Tracy meets Dan at the veterinary clinic to check on Rex’s recovery and notices a suspicious car with a recently cleared windshield parked nearby; the car disappears before they leave. That night, Tracy and Dan become intimate at her motel room. After Dan leaves, Tracy spots the same suspicious car again, but it speeds away before she can confront whoever is watching them.