Cassie conducts a facial reading for Gemma, informing her what the shapes and sizes of her facial features mean for her personality and future. Then, she enters Gemma’s past life by reading her face and finds her fated love. After Gemma leaves, Cassia consults with Halmoni, Emoni, and Sunny about Gemma’s reading. Using jade jewelry, they discover that Gemma’s fated’s name is Peter Cruz. They find a series of men with this name and arrange for Gemma to meet them. Afterward, Cassia privately opens the drawer containing the piece of paper with Daniel’s name stitched into it. She longs for the day they’ll meet, frustrated that she will soon be 40 and still single.

The next morning, Cassia wakes up from a series of bad dreams. She tries not to “put too much stock into dreams” because of an experience she had as a child (18). On her eighth birthday, she dreamed that her house had caught on fire, but her mother assured her that fire dreams meant her troubles would soon go away. Later that same day, her mother died of a brain aneurysm.

Cassia’s cockatoo, Betty, squawks and scratches her before she gets into the shower, where she reflects on her life. After her mother’s death, Cassia moved in with her grandparents, who took care of her. She is now living in her mother’s old house, where her childhood began; her grandparents saved it for her.

Cassia heads out for a ride with her biking group to clear her head. She meets up with her best friend, Marcella, at a cafe outside Frogtown River Park. They have coffee, chat, and head off on their ride. During the ride, Cassia crashes her bike, and a handsome stranger comes to her rescue, calling 911 despite her resistance. While waiting for the paramedics, he introduces himself as Ellis. The medics arrive and inspect her injured wrist.

Afterward, Marcella teases Cassia about Ellis. Cassia agrees that he’s attractive but insists that he is clearly much too young for her and reminds her that he is not Daniel. Marcella argues that she can have fun in the meantime.

Back at the office on Monday, Halmoni, Emoni, and Sunny worry over Cassia’s injuries and insist she rest. Cassia has been devoted to work for as long as she can remember, having always loved and believed in One & Only’s work. While working with her employee Shreya, Cassia muses on the kind of people her family hires—those who believe in undying love and fate but who don’t know their family’s face-reading secret.

In Sunny’s office, Cassia and Sunny plan their upcoming matchmaking event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). They agree that this will be an ideal opportunity to arrange Gemma and Peter’s meeting. Shreya interrupts to inform Cassia that she has a visitor. She is shocked to find Ellis in the waiting room; he tracked her down through her biking group’s social media to see if she was okay. Halmoni, Sunny, and Emoni express nosy curiosity before Cassia dismisses them.

Cassia agrees to grab a coffee with Ellis. On their way out, they commiserate about their immigrant backgrounds and families—Cassia is Korean American, and Ellis is half Chinese and half Jewish. Over coffee, Cassia tells him a bit about One & Only. To her surprise, Ellis doesn’t judge her work and shows interest in the business. Finally, Cassia confronts Ellis about his real motives for seeking her out. He admits that he is interested in her and wants to formally take her out. She reveals that she is almost 40 to his 28, an age difference that she finds glaring but that doesn’t bother Ellis. The conversation pivots to Cassia’s upcoming birthday. For years, she has taken a solo trip out of town, but she doesn’t tell Ellis why she instituted this tradition. Ellis tells her about his work as a landscape architect, which is why he was at Frogtown—he and his firm are redesigning the park. Unexpectedly intrigued, Cassia finds herself accidentally starting to read Ellis’s face. Their family has forbidden face reading without consent, so she stops short. Ultimately, the two part ways, agreeing to be friends.

Back at the office, Cassia finds incense burning near a photo of her mother. She is reminded that her upcoming birthday “is also the celebration of [her] mom’s death anniversary” (43).

On Saturday, Cassia drives to her grandparents’ with Marcella and her two children, Ozzie and Mica. They discuss Marcella’s ongoing work to open a restaurant.

At her grandparents’ home, Cassia and her friends and family celebrate Cassia’s upcoming birthday and the anniversary of Evette’s death. She studies her loved ones, reflecting on Sunny and Stu’s delayed match and Marcella's relationship with her husband, Logan. Before dinner, everyone toasts Evette and Cassia.

Later, a conversation about Cassia’s birthday trip arises, inciting an argument between her family and friends about Daniel. Cassia’s family hopes that she might meet him on her birthday, but Marcella thinks that she should try seeing Ellis. Cassia’s grandparents express skepticism. Privately, Marcella reminds Cassia to take a chance and enjoy her life.

Alone at home, Cassia looks up Ellis online. She is intrigued by Ellis and decides to send him a message despite her anxieties about Daniel. They end up in a texting conversation, and Cassia invites him over. She is surprised to find that Ellis and Betty get along; Betty doesn’t like anyone. They drink wine and chat before having sex, during which Cassia feels free.

Cassia lets Ellis spend the day. She’d planned to kick him out in the morning, but they ended up having sex multiple times throughout the night. When they wake up, they chat about Betty, the house, Evette’s feathery cassia plant, and Cassia’s yard. Ellis enthusiastically helps her with some plantings. While watching him work, she reminds herself that he is only a nice diversion before her 40th birthday.

That evening, Cassia and Ellis go out for dinner at a Korean restaurant. Cassia is surprised and delighted by Ellis’s knowledge of Korean food. Although enjoying herself, she tells Ellis that they can’t keep seeing each other because she is certain that she wants children and needs to be with someone who’s in the same place. Ellis indicates that he could be that person, but Cassia remains skeptical. Still, the two enjoy the rest of dinner and end up returning to Cassia’s house, where they have sex again.

In the morning, Cassia admits that it is her birthday and that she is going to Joshua Tree. A surprised Ellis reveals that he and his firm are headed there this week for a company retreat. Ellis agrees not to pester her if they run into each other there, although he is disappointed that Cassia doesn’t want to keep seeing him.

Cassia gives Ellis a ride to work on her way out. Outside the office, an attractive Korean man greets Ellis. Ellis introduces him to Cassia as his boss, Daniel Nam-Watson.