Welcome Home

October 6, 2022·56 min·4 clips

Kimber tells Sam she wants to expose a trafficking ring, free dozens of captive women, and get her pound of flesh — even if it means dying.

The episode opens with Sam narrating the shock of seeing Kimber after years apart, comparing it to encountering a ghost. Kimber arrives at Sam's apartment unannounced and meets his roommate Eric Tucker. Sam is guarded and tells her she shouldn't be there. Kimber says she read his case files, waited for him to be released from prison, and has come with a purpose. She tells Sam she wants to go back to Drisking to expose the trafficking ring, free the women still held there, and kill the men responsible. Sam calls it suicide. Kimber says she is going with or without him. Eric — a chess champion and cybersecurity professional — overhears the plan and proposes building a press package by stealing server records from the criminal network, arguing that exposing their business files to the media would force government action. Sam reluctantly agrees to go with Kimber. He calls his parole officer Leah and lies about where he is going. The two stop at a gas station, buy road trip snacks, and have a long conversation on the drive that covers their decade apart — Kimber's time in foster care, Miami, and California; Sam's addiction and prison sentence for selling drugs. As they near Drisking, the conversation turns inward and tense. They check into the Prince Ridge Inn under fake names. Kimber reveals that her mysterious source has told her Kyle — previously thought to be brain dead — may be sedated and alive. Sam is skeptical but Kimber insists she owes it to Kyle to believe it. It becomes clear the mission is partly a rescue operation. In the motel room, Sam is about to use heroin; Kimber discovers this and pleads with him to stop, promising to help him through withdrawal after the mission. Sam admits his daily usage. They reach an uneasy truce. In the morning Sam wakes to find Kimber missing, her phone on the nightstand, the window open, and a newspaper reading 'Welcome Home' on the doorstep. Sam realizes he was too incapacitated to wake when she was taken.

As heard by us

A tense roadside return keeps Sam Walker moving while the show leans on sharp dialogue and growing unease.

Baraska follows Sam Walker as a sudden call puts him back in motion, and the episode stays tight on clipped exchanges, roadside errands, and the sense that everyone is holding back something important.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

A tense road-trip detour as Sam heads for Missouri with secrets, old damage, and a lot left unsaid.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Borrasca