In her first quiet moment with Mitch since returning home, Abby explains that leaving was the right thing to do, since it brought her back to him. She doesn't want to be angry anymore. After talking to her parents, she finally figured out that she and Mitch share a reckless streak to push for the truth no matter what. They've made mistakes, but they can start over - even though something's bound to come along to disrupt their happiness. Nervous, Mitch admits that something, rather someone, is already happening, and his name is Joey Morolto. Mitch explains that Joey has promised to leave the McDeeres alone if he can win Patrick's case. Refusing to re-enter witness protection, Abby decides she'll do whatever it takes to help. Mitch and Abby are going to do it together, and they're not going to lose. Of course, Mitch neglects to mention consigliere Antonio's murder, preferring to give Abby some time to acclimate.
Joey calls Mitch down to the prison for a meeting with Patrick, who's concerned that prosecutor Alan Harper is trying the case in the press. Mitch agrees and promises to try to shut Alan down. Alan's a worthy adversary. When Joey asks how worthy, Mitch smells a rat - what doesn't Patrick want Alan to find out? Patrick admits he had a "situation" in college, when a girl he dated a few times filed a report with campus police claiming he tried to choke her during sex. Since Alan is working with a theory of rough sex, this could be used to prove propensity to commit a crime - even though you can't use a Prior Bad Act to do so. Later, Mitch meets with Ray and Abby to strategize. Since Alan may not know about the choking incident, Abby thinks they should wait. But Ray has located Wendy Vail in D.C. and wants Abby to go with him to feel her out.
Abby accosts Wendy on a downtown street. When she asks about Patrick, Wendy clams up. Alan told her the defense would come calling. Patrick tried to kill Wendy years ago, and she's only going to talk about it on the stand. Meanwhile, Mitch stops by Alan's office to ask him to stop trying Patrick in the press. Furthermore, Mitch is moving to preclude Wendy's testimony. Harper fights back: he's already subpoenaed Wendy's investigation file, and his copy should be ready this afternoon. Mitch could do the same, but the college needs two weeks to fill the request, and Alan isn't compelled to turn over his copy of the file until the day of the hearing. Later, Mitch, Ray and Abby circle the wagons. Abby decides she's going to try to get a copy of Wendy's file, while Ray visits the Morolto club to confirm that while Patrick and Charlotte were both there on the night of the murder, they had no contact.
At the campus police office, Abby doesn't correct the clerk's assumption that she's from Alan's office. Ray calls to warn that she can't just walk out with the file. Abby spies a copy machine and is almost done copying when Alan's assistant arrives to pick up the file. After navigating a pesky document jam, Abby manages to return the original file undetected and leave with her copy. Meanwhile, Ray's meeting with Joey's head of security when Sal shows up, looking haggard. Things haven't been going well in the Morolto family since Antonio's murder, and Sal confesses that if Joey doesn't watch his back, he won't come out on the other side.
That night, Abby and Mitch review Wendy's file. For some reason, the campus police stopped the investigation, and Abby thinks it was because they found out Wendy had a history of rough sex. Mitch warns Abby that even though it's not what he would do in normal circumstances, he may have to bring up this history in court - because they have to win at all costs. Ray stops by with good news. Surveillance video from Morolto's club shows Charlotte arriving and leaving with friends - she had no contact with Patrick whatsoever, even though they were both there at the same time. Learning Charlotte went to the club with a friend named Melanie Reed, Ray decides to investigate.
Abby's alone in the office when Joey stops by. Once she realizes who she's talking to, Abby demands to know if he plans to stick to his deal - will he leave them alone if Mitch wins Patrick's release? All Joey will say is that he gets the feeling Abby doesn't trust him. Things in the courtroom are tense, as Mitch suggests Alan blocked access to witness Wendy. Clearly the judge is on Mitch's side, but he still intends to hear Wendy's testimony. On the stand, Wendy doesn't disappoint Alan, explaining that after consensual sex, Patrick tried to choke her with a look of rage in his eyes. He was trying to kill her! And then he laughed! On cross, Mitch brings up Wendy's history of rough sex, but it doesn't go over well. At least the judge acknowledges that Mitch made his point - but they're not going to dwell on it.
Ray meets with Charlotte's friend Melanie, who doesn't really want to talk at first, but eventually softens up. As VIP liaison for private jet company Cloud Ten, Charlotte had a crazy schedule, travelling all over the world. When Ray suggests that perhaps Charlotte was a high-end escort, Melanie admits she did get attention from some crazy rich clients, like eastern European billionaire Alexi Dovak. And more to the point, neither Melanie nor Charlotte saw Patrick on the night of Charlotte's murder - Charlotte left the club alone.
Joey calls a meeting of the Morolto family at the club to address Antonio's murder. Capo Johnny "Ducks" DeCarlo stands up to fling accusations. Joey killed Antonio so he could replace him with Patrick - who's not even Italian! And why should Antonio die when Mitch still lives?! When Johnny stands and aims his gun at Joey, Joey tells him to hit the door, allowing several other capos to go with him. The civil war has begun. In the courtroom, Mitch fights on, trying to prove that Alan is using a Prior Bad Act to prove propensity. It's not long before the judge has to quell the fight between Alan and Mitch to offer his ruling: if Mitch tells the jury that Patrick isn't the kind of guy to choke a woman, then he'll let Wendy testify. Knowing Wendy will wind up testifying, Mitch meets Abby in the hallway and turns his focus to batting back reporters.
Spying Wendy heading for the restroom, Abby decides to follow. Playing the compassionate stranger, Abby tries to soothe Wendy's fragile nerves - the judge was ruling on the law, not on her. Wendy admits she went a little too far on the stand. Actually, Patrick wasn't in a rage, and she didn't totally know he wanted to kill her. Now it's too late to tell the truth. Abby makes a beeline for Mitch, and within moments, they're in the judge's chambers with Alan, relating the whole story. Ultimately, the judge orders Alan to bring Wendy back to court so everyone can find out the truth once and for all.
Ray tracks down Alexi Dovak on the street to ask him about Charlotte. Busy tech company billionaire Alexi doesn't have time for small talk and insists he's not the man Ray's looking for. Meanwhile, Wendy returns to the witness stand. After she tells Alan that she told the truth in her testimony, the judge gives Mitch a chance to cross-examine. Wendy breaks, confessing that Alan wanted her to make the incident with Patrick sound worse that it was. Furthermore, if she didn't cooperate, Alan told her Patrick would get away with murdering Charlotte. Alan leaps up in a rage, demanding the judge strike Wendy's testimony from the record, but he refuses, summoning the lawyers to his chambers, where another argument erupts. Finally the judge puts his foot down: Wendy's less-than-credible testimony is now precluded, and Alan is disqualified for coaching her. Alan's office will have to assign someone else to the case.
It's not long before Mitch is sitting uncomfortably in a limo giving Joey an update on the day's events. Joey's thrilled with Mitch's good work and promises it will be rewarded. He asks Mitch to hand him a case, which he opens to show that it's full of cash. But the cash isn't for Mitch... it's for Wendy, who meets the limo to pick up the reward for her good work. Alan was right - Joey did pay off Wendy! Mitch doesn't get it until Joey explains that he reached out to Wendy weeks ago, to see if she was willing to play Harper for a few hundred grand. Mitch shouldn't be so surprised - Harper was a problem and now he's not. When Joey gives all the credit to Patrick and claims it was a good day all around, Mitch leaps out of the car - if Joey wants him to handle Patrick's case, Mitch has to do it his way. Just as Joey insists that Mitch doesn't call the shots, a machine gunner rides up on a motorcycle. Mitch tackles Joey to the ground in the nick of time, while Joey's chauffeur is cut down in a blaze of gunfire.
That night, a devastated Mitch tells Abby and Ray the whole story in the family kitchen. Ray has to admit Patrick is sharp for orchestrating the whole con - now they know why Joey's so intent on fighting his own family to protect him. The truth is, if Joey doesn't do something soon, one of his family members is going to take him out. And with Joey gone, they can ditch the case and stop running. Mitch doesn't feel the same way. What if one of Antonio's guys takes over? Much as he hates to say it, Joey may be the only guy keeping the McDeeres alive...