Tessa Dixon publicly accuses unknown forces of murdering her grandfather at his funeral.
The episode is framed as a series of psychiatric sessions in a military detention facility. Tessa Dixon, a young soldier, is interviewed by Dr. Martinez after an unspecified incident. She is initially resistant and uses dark humor to deflect questions. When Martinez asks her to discuss what brought her to enlist, she returns to the day of her grandfather Byron Dixon's funeral. Byron was a military veteran who had been a constant presence in Tessa's life, attending every significant event and supporting her through coming out as gay. Tessa's grandmother Maeve had long blamed Tessa's sexuality for bringing shame on the family and had even asked Byron if he was embarrassed to be seen with her on base. Byron was found dead and his death was ruled a suicide. At the funeral, Tessa delivers a eulogy that pivots into a public accusation, telling mourners she believes Byron was killed. She is confronted by Maeve, who accuses her of making a scene. After the funeral, Tessa presses a military corporal on the details of the police report, noting that Byron never stored his gun loaded and that six bullets were in it, and that the angle of entry was inconsistent with suicide. The corporal slips by mentioning the matter is classified, which Tessa interprets as confirmation of a cover-up. Tessa gives up her scholarship to enlist, concluding that access to military information is the only way to learn the truth. Her grandmother opposes the decision; her father, despite being an addict, supports it. On the base, Tessa encounters a physical tape. She describes feeling an intense and irrational compulsion to take it. She hides to listen to it and hears Byron's voice warning her not to tell her father she has it. When she calls her father and mentions the tape, his tone turns hostile and he demands she bring it to him, accusing her of failing Byron and being a thief and a liar. The episode ends with Martinez attempting to listen to the tape himself during the session.
