Unfolding in the style of the film Sliding Doors, Shawn experiences two separate timelines set off by a "what if?" scenario. One timeline shows what would have happened if Juliet never found out that Shawn wasn't psychic; happy, in love and thinking about the next step in their relationship. The other timeline shows what really happened -- that Juliet did in fact find out Shawn wasn't a psychic. Shawn, Gus, Juliet, Lassiter, and Chief Vick follow the same murder case in both timelines, and arrive at the same conclusion in both timelines, but the investigative beats they each take to get there are presented differently.

When the Santa Barbara Mayor, Gavin Channing, dies in an apparent surfing accident, Shawn decides to run for office to delay Channing's interim successor from pushing through a proposal to lift developmental restrictions on the protected Santa Barbara wetlands.