Jesse Stone: Sea Change

In Paradise, Massachusetts, Chief Jesse Stone talks on the phone with his ex-wife Jenn in Los Angeles. She tells him not to call that night because she has started seeing someone, and she finds it strange that they speak every evening. The warning hints at unresolved tension between them. This sets a somber tone for the night ahead.

Stone learns his deputy Luther 'Suitcase' Simpson remains in a coma after a head wound, and his other deputy, Molly Crane, has resigned to start a family. Rose Gammon is brought in as a replacement and begins learning to work with Stone. The department grapples with new leadership and the dynamics of the reorganization.

After visiting the hospital to read to Luther, Stone returns home alone and plays an album of Brahms' piano music. He drinks and eventually falls asleep, using the music as a quiet anchor amid mounting trouble. The sequence foreshadows his ongoing struggle to maintain balance.

The next day, Stone sits with his psychiatrist, Dr. Dix, acknowledging that he drinks more when work is slow. Dr. Dix advises him to find a meaningful way to occupy his time. The session frames his ongoing battle with personal demons.

Back at the police station, Stone has Rose pull up cold cases and selects the 1992 homicide of Rebecca Lewis. They go to the site where the body was found and uncover buried clothes suggesting a gunshot wound rather than a simple robbery. They question the security guard Bob, who insists he killed the robber.

Luther unexpectedly wakes from his coma and begins showing a new instinct for the investigation. His cop-ly intuition points toward connections the team overlooked. This development widens the scope of the Lewis case.

Hasty Hathaway reveals that the bank's losses were far higher than the reported $24,000, with as much as $2 million hidden in a money-laundering scheme tied to mobster Gino Fish. Jesse realizes the money exists and is connected to organized crime. Gino orders Terrance Genest to tail Jesse to protect his interests.

Jesse investigates Cathleen Holton's allegation of rape by Harrison Pendleton aboard his yacht. He burgles the yacht to retrieve a videotape showing Holton consenting to the sex. He confronts Holton and urges telling her father the truth, noting the videotape complicates the perception of the case but doesn't necessarily prove illegality.

During the cold case, Jesse visits Rebecca Lewis's sister Leeann, who has moved to Massachusetts to care for their ailing mother. They talk and develop a mutual attraction. The encounter ties the case to Massachusetts on a personal level.

Luther conducts a background check on Leeann and learns she was reported missing on the day of the robbery and had worked as a waitress. Jesse then deduces that the woman calling herself Leeann is Rebecca Lewis. The discovery expands the web of deceit surrounding the case.

Jesse confronts the woman posing as Leeann, who admits she is Rebecca Lewis. She explains that she uncovered a bank money-laundering operation and that her sister planned to impersonate a robber to steal the money. The sister was shot by Bob, and Rebecca buried the disguise and escaped with the money.

Back in Massachusetts, Rebecca moves to care for her ailing mother after the events. Two years later, Mary suffers a stroke the day after Leeann's body is discovered, tying familial strain to the case's aftermath.

In Boston, Jesse tells Gino Fish that the stolen money was largely to care for a sick mother, convincing Gino to call off Terrance Genest. The move shifts leverage and reduces immediate danger to Jesse and his team.

Terrance appears at Jesse's home and fires a shot, which Jesse dodges. He returns fire and kills Terrance, ending the direct threat. He then steps outside to his deck with a drink, looking out at the evening sky with his dog Reggie, framed by quiet loneliness.