We begin right where we'd left off. Chalky walked in on Daughter Maitland, wondering what kind of business she has in a cathouse. She tells Chalky that the little girl on the couch is "not his," referring to Narcisse. She says the girl is only hers. She tells Chalky to walk out of the establishment while he can. Narcisse is going to be coming by, so Chalky says they should both wait for him.
Mickey Doyle is annoyed that the burlesque show is too quiet. He sends a young employee up to Nucky's room with sandwiches. Nucky's Cuban bodyguard is surprised to discover that Nucky isn't there.
Back in 1897, we see Nucky and Mabel up in the middle of the night, with him recalling an introduction he had to give for Jim Neary for an alderman position. He's also annoyed that everyone is calling him "Nucky." He's worried that Mabel isn't feeling well, but she insists she just couldn't sleep. Nucky says he isn't concerned that he was slighted for the alderman position because he has Mabel and that's what matters to him most.
Back in 1931, we see Nucky drunk at an otherwise nearly empty bar telling a woman his name is Francis X. Bushman. When he asks her to guess his background, she goes through a convoluted sad story about him being a desperate man. Still, Nucky makes her laugh with a joke.
Van Alden and Eli are planning their move to take Al Capone's ledger. They realize they haven't thought their plan through, but it's too late to turn back. They try to work their way into Capone's office, but when Eli opens a closed door despite Capone's men's discouragement, he catches Al's brother Ralph in the middle of having sex with a woman. As they start to calmly leave, Ralph shouts at them not to move. Ralph takes the satchel Van Alden was carrying and empties out a bunch of scratch paper. He wonders what they were trying to pull. Ralph tells the other men to go find Mike D'Angelo.
Daughter asks Chalky to let her take her girl out of there before the confrontation with Narcisse, but he refuses. Daughter's girl wakes up and Daughter lets the girl answer some of Chalky's questions about where they've been. She says she was born in Oklahoma, but they've since been all around and that her mother works for a white man. Daughter says she cleans the man's house. Narcisse knocks on the door and Chalky tells Daughter to let him in. Narcisse walks in with guards, but pushes their guns away and leaves them out in the hallway while closing the door. Narcisse meets Daughter's girl and she says her name is Althea. Narcisse calmly says, "Well, I supposed we all have our affairs to discuss."
Back in 1897, Nucky runs into a shopkeeper who is worried that a hurricane could be coming. The shopkeeper is annoyed with having to give Nucky The Commodore's payoff. The man tells Nucky about a kid who has been shoplifting. Nucky vows to catch him.
Back at the bar, Nucky (as Francis), is making the woman and a new female friend of hers laugh as they get drunk and he tries to remember Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha. They lament the terrible whiskey they're drinking, and Nucky says he can walk them right into the Ritz Carlton. He insists, though, that he's more like the working-class folks in the bar where he's drinking. He goes on about working hard to get somewhere, and an older man starts hurling insults at the whole group until the man walks over and challenges Nucky to a fight. They tussle and Nucky winds up on top of the man, punching him and insisting that he apologize to the women for insulting them. When the man refuses, Nucky punches him again, then returns to the table to finish reciting Longfellow. When he correctly remembers the ending, they ask him what he wants as a prize.
Mickey D'Angelo is brought to Capone's office and, saying nothing, sees the scrap paper on the desk and punches Van Alden in the face. He plays the part and Eli says they came to rob the joint. Van Alden says his wife suggested they rob Capone because they're having trouble at home. D'Angelo pulls Ralph aside and they discuss what to do next. D'Angelo says he'll take care of it with his own men. Al Capone walks in with a couple of visitors from Hollywood, working on a crime picture. Al is laughing it up and notices Van Alden, then asks what he's doing there. D'Angelo says they're "taking care of a problem and Ralph whispers something in Al's ear. Al asks Van Alden and Eli to stay.
Back in 1897, Eli is getting impatient and ask Nucky to help get him into The Commodore's organization. Nucky notices a kid on the boardwalk selling snacks and gum and chases the kid away, unable to catch him before he disappears under the boardwalk. There, Nucky finds a crate with a bunch of small stolen items inside.
Al Capone questions Eli and Van Alden, reminding them of all he's done for them. They both admit to being "greedy," but Al doesn't believe them and thinks they're "up to something." Al points his gun at Van Alden and says he thinks Lucky Luciano was right and that Van Alden is "a badge." Suddenly, Van Alden pushes the gun away and pins Al back down on his own desk, declaring his real identity as a federal agent and vowing to bring him down. D'Angelo shoots Van Alden in the back of the head, blood splattering on Al. Al is stunned, stammering about how Van Alden was going to kill him. He is outraged and kicks Van Alden's corpse a couple of times before noticing that Eli is mumbling, "I'm sorry" to Van Alden. He yells at Eli to "spill it." Eli says they came for the ledgers and they were told to. He says a fed was "squeezing" them. D'Angelo is just about ready to shoot Eli when Eli says it was "Ness." Al tells his brother Ralph that he wants Eli "face down in a corn field." Ralph asks, "What do we tell his brother?" Al says, "Luciano is taking care of him." D'Angelo walks Eli out as the Hollywood guests sit nervously. Ralph calls out to him and tells him that after he is finished with Eli, he wants him to take a satchel over to Cicero because he's "not feeling safe." D'Angelo looks inside and sees the ledger. Ralph tells him that Al is "very grateful for what you've done."
In the lobby, Eli tells D'Angelo that Van Alden had two kids. D'Angelo says he does, too, and that if they ask him what he does for a living he wouldn't be ashamed to tell them. Eli asks what happens to him and D'Angelo says he doesn't care. He crumples up a bill and tosses it at Eli, telling him to buy himself a bus ticket.
Nucky goes out behind the bar and is seductively over by one of the women. He says he wants to have sex with them right there. Just as things are about to get started, one of them smacks Nucky over the head and knocks him out.
Narcisse's men are crowding the hallway outside the room. Chalky asks Daughter why she's there and she pulls out a suitcase. She pulls out a record she paid to create on her own and says Narcisse has made it so that no club owner will let her perform. She asks him to let her free. Narcisse says he's come from a meeting with Lucky Luciano and being given terms. He seems concerned with "the new order of things." He offers Chalky a job helping him. Chalky tells Narcisse to put the record on. He does, and Chalky listens stoically for a moment before walking over and turning it off. Chalky says he'll take the bargain. He tells Narcisse to set it up and he'll belong to him. Narcisse tells Daughter, "Pick the city, you'll be booked tomorrow." Chalky tells Daughter she wasn't born to be a maid. She warns Chalky that he can't trust Narcisse, but he says, "I can't, far as I need to." He walks over and asks Althea if she's ever met her daddy. "Momma left him, but she had to leave," the girl says. Chalky tells her to stay close to her mom. Narcisse asks Chalky for his gun "as a gesture of loyalty." Chalky hands it over. Narcisse opens the door and his men come in. Chalky says Daughter and Althea should go first, but Daughter thinks they should all go together. Chalky says they doesn't make sense because they're headed to different places. After a brief, tender goodbye, Daughter and her child leave. Narcisse stands next to Chalky and says, "Our collaboration begins."
Back in 1897, hiding under the boardwalk waiting for the young thief, Eli tells Nucky that their father wants to see him, but Nucky isn't interested. Nucky tells Eli that Mabel is pregnant. The young shoplifter comes with more loot and Eli and Nucky surprise him. Nucky asks the kid's name and, after some resistance, the kid self identifies as "Gillian." Nucky says that's not a name for a boy and Gillian says, "I'm not a boy."
Nucky comes to and starts babbling drunkenly as Joel, the young man working for him lately, stands nearby. Later, Nucky's bodyguard tells Joel that Nucky wants to see him. Nucky asks Joel what he's doing there and Nucky tries to have Joel forget anything he might have said. Nucky extends some money toward Joel, but he refuses to accept it. Nucky says that someone he was close to died because of him, and he wonders what kind of world it is that allows him to still be here while she's gone. He offers the money again, telling Joel that it's for helping him, and Joel takes it.
The bodyguard comes to Nucky's room and says "they're here." Nucky looks over the balcony to the floor of the theater and sees Mickey Doyle giving them orders to swear their allegiance to Nucky. Several dozen men, armed with shotguns, stand at his side as Mickey looks up at Nucky and says, "We saddling up for a showdown, or what?"
"We are," Nucky says.
Narcisse brings Chalky out to the alley. Chalky warns Narcisse that he won't be able to keep up with "them white boys," and Narcisse calls surviving good enough. Narcisse starts to walk down the alley and Chalky tells him to keep his word to Daughter. Narcisse asks Chalky how he'll know (if his word is kept) and Chalky admits that he won't.
"Then tell yourself I will," Narcisse says, before turning his back on Chalky and walking down the alley, leaving his men to execute Chalky, who leaves Narcisse with parting words: "All a dream to begin with. Ain't nobody ever been free."
Five of the men stand in a line, raising their guns to aim them at Chalky, who smirks and says, "Alright then." He closes his eyes and hears Daughter's voice singing, "Dream a Little Dream of Me," before the first shot rings out.
This episode provides examples of:
- Anyone Can Die: Van Alden and Chalky meet their ends in this episode.
- Bittersweet Ending: Possibly a Downer Ending for two major characters, as Van Alden dies leaving his wife widowed and children fatherless and Chalky fails to get revenge on Narcisse and dies. On the other hand Van Alden's death saved Eli and allowed D'Angelo to get the ledgers (not to mention going out as the lawman he wanted to be), and if Narcisse keeps his word Chalky bought Daughter's freedom.
- Blatant Lies: Mike D'Angelo: Where'd you geniuses get that idea?" Van Alden: "My wife."
- Boom, Headshot!: Van Alden.
- Dying as Yourself: Van Alden dies angrily proclaiming his true identity to Al Capone.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Van Alden. And to a lesser extent, Chalky.
- Face Death with Dignity: Van Alden dies while strangling Al Capone.
- Chalky. He simply says: "All right, then."
- Foregone Conclusion: We all know what's going to happen to Gillian.
- Good is Not Nice: Mike D'Angelo kills Van Alden to save his own ass and then coldly dismisses Eli. But then again, Van Alden and Eli were both criminals and cop killers, and D'Angelo's actions made it possible to bring down Capone.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Chalky lets Narcisse kill him in order to save Daughter.
- It is implied Van Alden attacked Capone so that D'Angelo would get the ledgers to bring down Capone and so that Eli could be saved.
- Jerkass: The drunk that insults Nucky at the bar.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Van Alden.
- Mood Whiplash: The humorous Van Alden/Eli storyline ends with Van Alden getting his face blown in half.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We see The Commodore leading pre-pubescent girls into his office with a friendly smile on his face...
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Eli: "We... Uh... Came to rob the joint? We figured uh... The big boy wouldn't be here?" Van Alden: "Skeleton Crew." Eli: "Uh... yeah! We figured it'd be easy."
- Villainous BSoD: Narcisse shows some hints of this, obviously exasperated that he has to submit himself to Luciano and co.
- Wham Episode: Two major characters that were with the show since the pilot die in this episode.
