Directed by Kevin Bray
Written by Liz W Garcia
A pregnant woman asks the police to solve the murder of her ancestor Violet Polley, who was murdered in Christmas 1929.
Tropes:
- Big Fancy House: Miller says that Bartleby Manor can fit all the apartments that she has lived in.
- Blackmail: Felix suggested Violet to use her illegitimate baby to blackmail Nick. He ended up killing her for refusing and insulting him.
- The Casanova: Nick Bartleby in 1929 before the stock crash.
- Changeling Fantasy: Aimee's grandmother Rose was in one and she never knew. Her biological father was a millionaire, her mother wrote songs which are classics and her upbringing was provided for by a once-famous actress.
- Chekhov's Gun: The golden clock that Felix got from the Bartlebys and sold to start his company is this. Turns out he took it from Violet after killing her in a rage. Many years later, Felix's grandson Daniel tracked down and bought back the clock, giving the detectives a clue.
- Children Are Tender-Hearted: Muriel, who was a small child at the time, refused to give up the golden clock from her father to sell after the 1929 stock market crash left her family broke. But then struggling Violet came and begged Muriel's older brother Nick to take in their child. Nick cruelly refused, even though Muriel knew they were still well-off enough to care for the baby. When she saw how sad and desperate Violet was, Muriel gave Violet her beloved clock to sell.
- Deathbed Confession: Felix let his grandson Daniel record his confession to Violet's murder on his deathbed. Daniel kept it a secret until the detectives came digging.
- Driven to Suicide: The Bartlebys' banker jumped out of a window after the stock market crash.
- Gold Digger: Ginger's 1929 New Year's resolution was to find a rich and handsome guy to marry.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: The Bartlebys were careful not to add any 'crooked branches' to their family tree. Come the present day and the elderly Muriel is the last Bartleby left. She adds Rose and her descendants to the Bartleby family tree in the ending montage.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Violet was the first girl to say no to Nick when he tried to sleep with her, which interested him and made him start pursuing her seriously.
- Identical Grandson: Carmela's assistant Mickey Stein and his grandson are played by the same actor.
- It's Personal: Lilly agrees to take on the case when Violet's great-granddaughter, Aimee, wants the case solved to escape the misfortune the women in her family have gone through since Violet's death, talking about wanting to move on but being unable to outrun her family, something Lilly is struggling with at the moment when her estranged mother attempts to reconnect.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Carmela was a Proud Beauty and stuck-up actress who threatened Violet to stay away from Nick. Later on though, she takes pity on Violet and buys her songs so the latter can provide for her unborn child. Carmela is also the one who takes baby Rose to a safe place after finding her abandoned, even making a sizable donation to the orphanage to ensure she would be taken care of.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Nick Bartleby was quite The Casanova in the 20s, seducing women left and right with his status and good looks. He appears to develop genuine feelings for Violet, only to dump her after she becomes pregnant and refuse to take in her baby, as he started to lose his fortunes during the stock crash.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Nick's chauffeur Felix, after being fired by the former, took the golden clock from Violet's corpse and used the sales money to start his own company, dying free and a millionaire. The crime may have remained unsolved had his grandson destroyed his deathbed confessions like he had considered doing.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Muriel doesn’t believe that her brother Nick is the father of Violet’s daughter, Rose.
- Small Town Boredom: Violet had bigger dreams that being a pig farmer's wife in Oley Valley.
- Technology Marches On: In-Universe. One suspect, Violet's ex-boyfriend Jeb, was in California two days before her murder. While traveling from California to Philadelphia in 2 days is no big deal in 2006, it was impossible in 1929, thus clearing him as a suspect.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Ginger Swensen helped Violet meet Nick. She is never seen nor heard after that. She still somehow appears to Aimee in the epilogue.
