Publicly stating that he did not intend to expose Naomi's private life, Channing McClaren is involved in a media frenzy. Patty and Ellen face each other in court, where Ellen suspects that the judge is favouring Patty. An enigmatic woman named Kate Franklin approaches Ellen and offers to be her new associate. However, Ellen discovers that Kate had worked for Patty twenty years ago, and as a loyalty test sends her to Patty, making demands she doubles the offer Ellen made. Patty falls into the trap and tries to hire Franklin. Having overheard a conversation at Patty's, Kate confirms Ellen's doubts about the judge, leading Ellen to hire Kate and blackmail the judge. At the same time, a private investigator working for Ellen finds evidence about Naomi meeting Channing, contradictory to Channing's statement. After the judge recuses himself from the case and a new one steps in, Ellen finds out that Patty had orchestrated everything. The judge was ruling in favour of Ellen, so Patty manipulated Ellen to believe the opposite, making room for a new, more favourable judge.

Ellen confronts Channing about the video in the hotel corridor where he allegedly meets Naomi. He confesses that he has met with Naomi twice. Once in Rome and the second time in the hotel room briefly before her suicide. He claims that they only discussed the arrangements of their agreement without anything happening between them. As a result, Ellen deposes Rachel Walling who gives her a different story. Namely her mother had met Channing twice, but they had sex the first time while the second he tried to rape her. As a proof she has Channing's damaged cigarette box which he had thrown in the wall while threatening her mother. After days of seeming defeat, Ellen questions Rachel about the last phone call she had with her mother. Rachel says that her mother called and they talked briefly about their mutual love and they said their goodbyes.

Patty arrives in her office to find her granddaughter Catherine sitting at her desk. When Catherine refuses to move, Patty lashes out at her, only to see Catherine replaced by Ellen. It's the same dream Patty had earlier. But this time Ellen says, I love you, Mommy. Waking up from her dream, Patty finds herself on the couch in her apartment. Patty meets an old friend Roger Kastle, who tells her she's on the short list for the Supreme Court. When the SEC blocks Patty's access to Princefield's computer servers, Patty goes to the media saying that McClaren sexually assaulted Naomi Walling. Incensed, Ellen schedules a hearing with Judge Gearheart, who in turn issues a gag order on both women. When Ellen complains that Patty manipulated the situation, Judge Gearheart takes offense and tells her the order stands. Ellen learns her mother, Denise, left her abusive husband Gary.

Ellen dreams of her attack only to wake up in her office. Patty arrives in Ellen's office for a meeting. After Patty fishes for a minute, Ellen bluffs that she bought the Princefield information from the hacker and Patty doesn't let on that she actually does have it. While Ellen works to track down the hacker, Patty learns that Princefield's CEO has been cooperating with the SEC's investigation. The SEC official acknowledges he has recordings of Naomi's communications. Patty threatens him to find any records of Naomi's communications with McClaren or Patty will issue a press release indicating that SEC knew about the insider trading, but failed to act on it. Ellen schedules a meeting with Judge Gearheart, where Beth Kim provides evidence that Patty bought the information. Patty hands over the information. Ellen has another nightmare only to bolt awake in her office. Patty visits her dying father in the nursing home. The old man offers to put Patty in his will. She declines and tells him never to contact her again.

Ellen continues to have disturbing dreams about her late fiance. Later, she thinks that she sees the hitman who tried to kill her years ago. Her trauma counsellor advises her to drop the case. In separate interviews with Patty and Ellen, Thomas Weld, who had stayed in the room next to Naomi, says he did not hear an argument from Naomi's room, which does not help Patty's case. Ellen pushes further by promises not to expose Weld, discovering he was carrying on an affair at the hotel. Naomi's daughter Rachel is confronted by Naomi's former boss, which causes her to consider dropping the case. Later she's approached directly by McClaren who convinces her to listen to his side of the story. In his retelling, McClaren is less aggressive. Instead, McClaren is awkward and his extremely poor social skills create a misunderstanding. Despite his actions quite clearly constituting a sexual assault, he was trying to be seductive and persistent, not aggressive.

Channing learns about the death of Samurai Seven, the computer hacker. Meanwhile, Patty and Ellen travel to Maine University to depose Dr. Lee Collins, a computer science expert who analysed Princefield's servers. Chris Sanchez, who now counsels military veterans, learns that the military routinely prescribes antidepressants to servicemen suffering from PTSD via web chat sessions and sends them back to combat without meeting a doctor in person. Chris wants Ellen to give this story to Channing. Channing meets with Beth Kim, Samurai Seven's girlfriend, where she tells him that Ellen, Gitta and Patty met Samurai Seven behind Channing's back. Rutger Simon meets with a major funder of McClaren Truth and describes the information that Samurai Seven leaked and how both sides of the cases now have access to it.

Ellen continues private counselling, while Patty continues to be courted for the Supreme Court. However, Patty is warned that she must first deal with any existing improprieties, which reminds her of the attempted murder of Ellen. Gitta and McClaren go to Ellen with the information that Torben both assisted in Fund 23s insider trading and funds McClaren Truth. Michael discovers that his maternal grandfather, Lyle Hewes, is still alive and wishes the family land to go to Michael after his death. Lyle fails to convince Michael to drop the custody case. Later, Michael fails to convince Patty to release her portion and allow him to inherit the family land.

After Ellen visits Uncle Pete's widow in her search for the man who was hired to kill her, the widow contacts the assassin, named Patrick, to warn him. Ellen gives a part of the blood stained business card to the detectives who worked the case of David's murder, asking them to test it for the DNA of her assassin. The press surrounding the case suddenly becomes positive when Chris Sanchez and McClaren Truth release the anonymous information on the soldiers with PTSD.

The press surrounding the case suddenly becomes positive when Chris Sanchez and McClaren Truth release the anonymous information on the soldiers with PTSD. Patty reveals to Ellen that she knows the identity of Torben and she demands the complete finances of McClaren Truth. Ellen finally learns the identity of her assassin, Patrick Scully, a petty criminal. Patty accepts the nomination for the Supreme Court.