Almost a year has passed since Ellen Parsons left Hewes and Associates. She is now working in the District Attorney's office and is dealing with a fairly important drug case, trying to get a dealer to reveal the identity of his supplier. Patty Hewes is now acting on behalf of a group of investors trying to recover money they had entrusted to Louis Tobin and who, it turns out, was running a Ponzi scheme. With billions of dollars unaccounted for, Patty is trying to find any funds that may have been hidden by the Tobin family. Patty and Ellen have had no contact since her departure but Patty has been reluctant to re-assign her office, convinced that Ellen will return. She even sends her an expensive handbag. Ellen wants nothing to do with her however and when she thinks Patty may be interfering with her drug case, tells her she doesn't need any help. She also tells her that any secrets she may have are perfectly safe. In a flash-forward 6 months into the future, Patty Hewes is in a serious accident when another car broadsides her vehicle in an intersection. The occupant of the other vehicle has fled but it is registered to someone she knows.
Spoilers ahead. Coverage follows the scope labeled below.
Complete story — includes the ending
Patty Hewes has been appointed by the U.S. government to recover billions of dollars lost to the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history. The new case pits Patty against the powerful Tobin family, which includes Joe Tobin ( Campbell Scott ), Marilyn Tobin ( Lily Tomlin ), and the family's trusted attorney Leonard Winstone ( Martin Short ). Meanwhile, Ellen Parsons adjusts to the challenges of her new job and life away from Patty Hewes, by trying to get a drug dealer to give the name of his supplier to the D.A.'s office. Patty promotes Tom Shayes to named partner, and Tom speculates about whether Ellen might want to return to the firm. In the future timeline, Patty's car is rammed off the road by an unknown assailant, and the other car turns out to be registered to Tom Shayes. Detective Huntley tracks the car to a homeless person who carries a bloodstained Chanel handbag that Patty gave to Ellen as a gift six months earlier. In a nearby dumpster the police find the dead body of Tom Shayes.