In the present, Riley rushes to the RV park to confront Tom Kyle about his claim that Lisa did not kill herself. She finds his wife, Verniece, who dismisses Tom’s comment, saying he resents Frank for not leaving them the RV park as promised.

To reinforce Lisa’s story, Verniece tells Riley she saw Lisa’s kayak in the river ice. She comforts Riley, who admits she misses her sister and leaves, rattled by the conflicting messages.

In January 1990, Lisa arrives in San Diego and spends a miserable night on Ocean Beach. A local woman, Ingrid, brings her food. When asked her name, Lisa looks at her hidden pendant for inspiration and calls herself Jade. She later rents a cottage from Ingrid.

Jade spends her first days in isolation, watching news reports about her presumed death. On a trip to a market, she sees a young girl who reminds her of Riley, and she withdraws back into her quiet routine.

That evening, Riley returns to the RV park and confronts Tom Kyle. He claims a newspaper reported two sets of footprints near Lisa’s car, implying she had help. Riley challenges this, as she has seen no such report.

Tom grows hostile when Riley mentions the inheritance. Verniece steps in to explain their financial troubles. Unsettled, Riley decides to ask her brother, Danny, for help.

In March 1990, Jade lives with profound loneliness. She desperately misses playing the violin, and every night she lies in bed pretending to play a phantom instrument before falling asleep, crying. She finds comfort at a record shop owned by the welcoming Grady. A familiar poster stirs intense homesickness, and Jade walks to a pay phone.

She first calls her family’s old number and discovers it is disconnected. Panicked, she calls her old friend Matty, but when he answers, she cannot speak, and he hangs up. The failed calls leave her devastated, convinced that her ties to the past are gone.

In the present, Riley finds Danny at a billiards hall and asks him to help unlock their father’s computer. At the house, he quickly bypasses the password and copies the hard drive. The presence of Jeannie and Christine Lyons is intrusive and upsetting to both siblings.

Riley tells Danny about Tom’s claim of two sets of footprints, but Danny dismisses it. He resents Lisa for abandoning them and says that if she is alive, she should be in prison. Riley ends up with the copied data but without her brother’s support.

By September 1990, Jade works at Grady’s Records. She impresses Grady by using her classical music knowledge to help a customer, Charlie. Grady notices her talent and urges her to consider San Diego State University, suggesting she could teach. The conversation stirs Jade to imagine a future beyond just hiding.

In the present, Jeannie and Christine give Riley a hard timetable, announcing that the estate sale is two weeks away and valuing the RV park at nearly $200,000. When Riley asks about Frank’s promise to the Kyles, Jeannie denies it, saying Frank disliked them.

The meeting ends when Danny calls, telling her to come to his trailer immediately because he has found something important.

In July 1992, after being admitted to San Diego State, Jade needs a car. She risks writing to her father via the emergency PO box. Weeks later, she receives an envelope with $2,000 and a note telling her she is loved and missed. She buys a used car and obtains a driver’s license as Ann Johnson.

On campus, she sees a concert poster for her old friend Matty. She attends the performance but, overwhelmed by emotion and fear of discovery, leaves during intermission without approaching him.

In the present, Danny tells Riley he hacked into Virginia State Police records from 1990. He confirms Tom’s story: Investigators found two sets of footprints, a detail withheld from the media. The files show that police questioned Lisa’s friend Matthew Harrison, who had an alibi, and considered the idea that Lisa may have been murdered.

The news hardens Riley’s resolve to find her sister. Danny remains hostile, insisting Lisa is a criminal.

In October 1992, Jade feels isolated and drifts toward the San Diego State music building. She sees an ad for a used violin. Breaking her promise to Frank, she buys the instrument from a student.

That night, Jade closes the windows in her cottage and plays for the first time in nearly three years, filled with relief and grief as she reconnects with a buried part of herself.

In the present, Riley visits Caterina Thoreau, Lisa’s last violin teacher, in Myrtle Beach. Caterina explains that a year with a mystery teacher damaged Lisa’s technique and confidence. Caterina also says she told Lisa that Steven Davis sabotaged her Juilliard application.

Caterina shows Riley a video of Lisa performing while wearing the white jade pendant. She adds that the pendant came from this mystery teacher, giving Riley a new lead.