Plot

Raylan tracks down Tanner Dodd, the Quarles associate who helped frame Boyd for planting a bomb in sheriff Napier's car. Meanwhile, Ava helps a prostitute who needs protection from Delroy after a robbery goes bad.

Raylan pursues a Dixie Mafia soldier who may be the key to taking down Quarles. Ava turns brutal in order to protect an imperiled prostitute.—FX Publicity

Givens returns to his hotel room with the gun that was planted at Winona's house. He seems to consider his next move before hiding the gun behind a chest under a window. The next morning the Marshal is sommoned into Art's office. Art asks why Givens has been looking into a Detroit hustler named Brady Hughes. Apparently, the young man is connected -- not in a legal way -- with Quarles. Art, however, has had enough of this pseudo investigation, noting that Givens has nothing in the way of proof. "We're going to shut this down," Art says. "Us and Quarles. You and Quarles." Givens isn't happy. 

Delroy (William Mapother) sits behind the wheel of a van while in the rear a trio of coke-snorting working girls from his brothel don sun glasses and wigs. Delroy encourages them to go out and make some money as they exit the van and enter a nearby check cashing outlet with shotguns. Shots are fired and the women soon emerge. Two of the women, Ellen May (Abby Miller) and J.J. (Willow Geer), carry a badly injured Krystal (Erin Anderson). "Oh s$#@!" Delroy exclaims. The women hustle into the van and Delroy stomps on the gas pedal. Krystal soon expires. "She was a soldier and she knew the risks," Delroy says. "Let's fix this."

"Fixing it" means taking the body into the woods and dumping it into a pond, then eliminating witnesses. Delroy pulls a gun and kills J.J. as Ellen May makes a run for it and disappears into the woods as Delroy tries to kill her too.

Givens, in the meantime, drinks at the bar beneath his hotel room where barmaid Lindsey (Jenn Lyon) pays special attention to him as Ava enters and the drunk Marshal gives her a lingering kiss. Ava is taken aback, but quickly recovers. "You do know what Boyd is, right?" Givens asks. Ava ignores the comment and explains that Boyd wants to help Givens get to Quarles. Givens is immediately intrigued.

So intrigued, in fact, that the Marshal visits Boyd, who is in jail on a trumped-up charge of bombing the Sheriff's car. Boyd explains that the man Givens threw out of a moving pill-mill trailer is the same man who bombed the Sheriff's vehicle. Boyd would like to provide Givens with the man's name. "You're asking me to go get your 'get of jail free' card," Givens observes. True enough, but it might also mean the end of Quarles. "Tanner Dodd," Boyd says.

Givens calls Art, who reluctantly agrees to investigate Tanner. Givens will have one more chance to nail Quarles.

Speaking of... Quarles visits Limehouse for a business meeting. Quarles explains that he has arranged for Sheriff Napier to win the upcoming election because a). Boyd is in jail and b). Napier looks like a hero for putting him there. But Limehouse warns that elections are not won in Harlan County without "insurance." And, of course, Quarles will have to pay for that insurance. The Detroit criminal has come well prepared and presents Limehouse with a briefcase full of cash. Limehouse tells Quarles to give the money to his new "campaign manager," who will be arriving shortly.

At Johnny's bar, Ava is cleaning up before opening for business when there is a persistant knock at the door. She opens it to find a bloodied, dirty and terrified Ellen May. "You got to help me!" she says.

Later, Givens arrives at the house of Tanner's mother, Imogene Dodd (Carol Mansell). She denies having seen Tanner "in years," though she has a new hi-def wide-screen TV that is likely a gift from her loving son. Mom, who seems nice at first, soon turns mean. She has been dealing with "limp dick lawmen" looking for her boy since her was 10 years old. "Now you get the hell out!" she yells at Givens. The Marshal simply nods and leaves his card.

Quarles meets his new campaign manager, Harvey Jones (Ezra Buzzington), goes on and on about his plans to rig the election. Quarles, who only wants results, isn't terribly interested. In fact, the cold-hearted criminal is annoyed. Tanner (Brendan McCarthy), meanwhile, is outside with Errol (Demetrius Grosse) ducking Quarles when he gets a call from his mom and understands that he is in trouble. Errol overhears the call and tells Limehouse, who orders his lieutenant to keep a close eye on Tanner.

Sheriff Napier gets a visit in his office from Givens and a large bearded man in a ballistic vest who he introduces as ATF Agent Masters (Josh Latzer), a bomb expert. Given explains that he suspects Boyd might not have acted alone. A second suspect is Tanner Dodd, and tells the Sheriff that Masters was able to match the bomb rigging to Tanner's previous work. Givens urges the suddenly nervous sheriff to investigate Tanner and follow up with the Marshals' office. Outside, Givens pays off the "agent," who is really just a passing big rig truck driver who'd borrowed the Marshal's ballistic vest for the ruse.

At Johnny's bar, Ava asks for Johnny's help in taking care of Ellen May who is asleep on a couch in the office. Johnny refuses, explaining that Delroy pays protection money to Boyd. In other words, Ava can't keep the girl. So Ava calls Delroy and agrees to turn over Ellen May for a "finder's fee" of $2,000. Delroy reluctantly agrees.

Tanner gets a call from Sheriff Napier, who says he wants to pay Tanner for his recent job. The pair agree to meet later that afternoon

But first, Tanner and Errol attempt to rob Lemuel Briggs (Jim Haynie), the old explosives dealer who'd provided Tanner with the makings of the bomb with which he'd blown up Napier's Sheriff's car. The crafty old man leads the pair inside his shop. In fact, he leads Tanner to a stool that is really a pressure-sensitive explosives device. If Tanner removes his foot from the stool, the bomb will go off. "You shoot me now, you'll spend the rest of your life in this room," the man says. "I'm the only one that can disarm it. And I will as soon as you boys hand over your weapons." Tanner lowers his gun... but Errol fires, shooting the old man in the back, killing him. There's a brief Mexican stand-off between the criminal cohorts before Tanner relents and shoves the canvas bag full of cash over to Errol, who promises to deliver the bag to Tanner's mother -- and then leaves an angry and panicky Tanner with his foot on an armed bomb.

Later, Givens, who had followed the Sheriff from his office and watched him prepare for Tanner's arrival with duct tape and a shovel, gets a call from Trooper Tom Bergen (Peter Murnik) outside of Briggs' shop. Tanner has used his cell' 'phone to call the State Police to turn himself in though he is still standing on a bomb trigger. Amused and disgusted, Givens drives toward the scene, taking a detour on the way to pass Sheriff Napier who is waiting for Tanner. Clearly, the sheriff had nefarious plans for Tanner. "Sheriff, pretty sure he's not coming," Givens says before driving away. Caught and knowing it, the sheriff grimaces.

At Johnny's bar, Ava awakens Ellen May with an "eye-opener" shot of tequila and hand the young woman a belt as she points a shotgun at her, telling her to bind her wrists with the strap. She marches the now hysterical woman, who can't understand what she's done "to deserve this," out to the barroom where Delroy waits. The murderous pimp puts a bag of money on the top of the bar, and lowers his revolver. Ava calmly raises her shotgun and fires a blast into Delroy's mid-section, killing him instantly.

It was another ruse... she never had any intention of handing over the young woman to be killed.

Elsewhere, Givens puts on his ballistic vest and enters the shop where Tanner stands on a bomb. A real ATF bomb expert, Agent Keaton (Conor O'Farrell), enters behind Givens to attempt to defuse the device. "It's going to take a few hours," the expert explains. While they wait, Givens explains that Napier was waiting for Tanner with a shovel. "Why don't you tell me something that will make it easier for you down the road?" Givens proposes. Tanner stridently delays, countering that if they get him out of his dire situation, he'll give up all the information Givens seeks. While he and the Marshal are arguing, he accidentally drops his gun. The slight change in weight causes the device to emit a soft high-pitched sound. Keaton rises and excuses himself, telling Tanner he's going to got get "the robot" from his vehicle, but quietly telling Givens that the bomb has armed itself and they have to evacuate. As Givens exits the shop, he urgently continues to interrogate the doomed man. Tanner yells for help, but it's too late. The shop explodes, taking Tanner with it.

Sheriff Napier and Shelby (Jim Beaver) engage in a "candidates' debate" at the local VFW hall with Harvey acting as moderator. Harvey is giving Napier the advantage in the discussion when Boyd, recently released at the urging of the Marshal's office, enters. He explains that Shelby was implicated in a robbery by the hated Blackpike Coal -- and who would believe that dishonest firm? The charismatic Boyd soon has the crowd in a frenzy. "I'm not saying you're a bad man, Mr. Napier, but I do know that you've been feeding too long at the public trough!" Boyd says. The crowd cheers. Harvey pounds his gavel, but it's drowned out.

Later, Ava tells a quietly incredulous Boyd about the murder of Delroy. "If that's a decision you feel like you had to make, then I respect that," Boyd says. Ava then suggests that someone will have to make sure that Ellen May and others like her can be safe. In short, Ava has volunteered to start running women in Harlan.

Errol, in the meantime, makes good on his promise and delivers the sack of cash to Tanner's mother. She is mighty grateful through her tears. Mom then steps back inside, where Givens his beem sitting. "I am truly sorry for your loss," he says.

Having seen Errol visit Tanner's mom, Givens heads to Limehouse's place. "Robert Quarles," Givens begins. "I'm either going to put him in prison or in the ground. You're going to help me." Givens explains the Errol connection, which connects Limehouse to Quarles. Limehouse, however, is not so easily intimidated. He lets Givens know that he won't be revealing anything, and admits that he'd earlier lied to the Marshal when he said he didn't remember Arlo Givens, when in fact he had... and talks in some detail about the savage beating he'd given his father decades before. Limehouse says the only thing that kept him from finishing Arlo off, was the fact that his nine-year-old was watching "with eyes as big as dollar coins."

If he was hoping to provoke Givens, he failed... so he says "If that didn't bother you, I could also tell you some stories about your mother, as well." The Marshal's eyes go cold as he stands and tells the man, "Now that would bother me."

There is a frozen moment between the men before Givens again pushes for information about Quarles. Again, Limehoue stands silent.

"So be it," says a tired and disappointed Givens. "So be it," repeats Limehouse.