Freed from her psych ward confinement, Root receives a directive from The Machine that requires Shaw's assistance - by any means necessary - and takes extreme measures to gain her compliance. Also, Reese and Finch look for clues as to why a mild-mannered estate investigator's number has come up.

The POI team's war with HR nears a boiling point when Finch receives 38 numbers at once from The Machine. He discovers they are connected to an unknown player who is inciting an all-out war between the crime organization and the Russian mob. Meanwhile, a window into Carter's past is seen through flashbacks with her son's father.