Damages

Almost a year has passed since Ellen Parsons left Hewes and Associates. She is now working in the District Attorney's office and is dealing with a fairly important drug case, trying to get a dealer to reveal the identity of his supplier. Patty Hewes is now acting on behalf of a group of investors trying to recover money they had entrusted to Louis Tobin and who, it turns out, was running a Ponzi scheme. With billions of dollars unaccounted for, Patty is trying to find any funds that may have been hidden by the Tobin family. Patty and Ellen have had no contact since her departure but Patty has been reluctant to re-assign her office, convinced that Ellen will return. She even sends her an expensive handbag. Ellen wants nothing to do with her however and when she thinks Patty may be interfering with her drug case, tells her she doesn't need any help. She also tells her that any secrets she may have are perfectly safe. In a flash-forward 6 months into the future, Patty Hewes is in a serious accident when another car broadsides her vehicle in an intersection. The occupant of the other vehicle has fled but it is registered to someone she knows.

Having been told by his father that some money from investors has been hidden for the family's use, Joe Tobin struggles with whether he should tell Patty Hewes or conspire with his father. Tom Shayes tracks the telephone number given them by Joe Tobin to a cellphone now in possession of a homeless man who found it in a dumpster. He also finds a pair of expensive boots belonging to Louis Tobin and a trail of expenses suggesting the man had a mistress with the initials DMM. He turns to Ellen for help in identifying the her. Shayes also receives some devastating news about his own investment portfolio. Meanwhile, Patty Hewes and Phil Grey's divorce is not going well; he has an interesting proposition for her however. In a flash forward to six months into the future, it is revealed that one of the principal characters has died.

Joe Tobin calls lawyer Leonard Winstone after accidentally hitting Danielle Marchetti with his car. Winstone arranges for a doctor to examine her but Joe ignores his advice and takes her to the airport even after she's begins to show symptoms of a possible brain hemorrhage. Patty Hewes' attempts to find her and keep her from leaving the country fall on deaf ears at the DA's office, however, so it's left up to her and Tom Shayes to locate her and find a reason to justify a subpoena. Tom Shayes has dinner with his parents-in-law to tell them about the loss of their investments. Ellen Parsons travels to her parents home in New Jersey for a family dinner and learns that her sister's husband has run off. She also discovers something else about her sister.

Patty Hewes wants to know why Louis Tobin called Danielle Marchetti on that fateful Thanksgiving day he told his family about his Ponzi scheme. She is concerned that once Tobin is sentenced, he will have no interest or reason to cooperate with her as she tries to find any money he may have hidden. The DA agrees to a one day delay in the sentencing and he's brought in for furthering questioning. The DA asks Ellen to sit in on the interview. Louis Tobin is also concerned about reports that his son Joe is drinking again and tells the family lawyer, Leonard Winstone, to do something about it. He also also a plan for dealing with his planned sentencing. Patty Hewes has lunch with her son Michael, whom she's not seen for awhile. He seems to have adjusted to life as an adult but isn't entirely truthful with her. Ellen confronts her sister about what she found in her bag. In a flash forward 5 months into the future, the NYPD detectives tell Patty what they know about Tom Shayes.

Louis Tobin's suicide is ruled a heart attack though no one really believes that to be the case. Danielle Marchetti is now out of her coma and the DA and Ellen offer her immunity from prosecution if she tells all that she knows about Tobin. Joe Tobin tells her in no uncertain terms what he expects of her. Patty suggests that she plead the 5th. Louis' daughter Carol doesn't take the news that her father committed suicide very well and pays Danielle a visit. Louis' relationship with Danielle is explained as is his reason for wanting to get her out of the country. Ellen meets her old friend Josh who is now a crime reporter. Meanwhile, Patty interviews a candidate, Alex Benjamin, for an associate position and suggests she should speak to Ellen first. In a flash forward 5 months into the future, more of Tom Shayes situation is revealed.

The judge in the Tobin case puts pressure on Patty to start producing results in recovering the funds from the Ponzi scheme or face being replaced. She seeks information from who an expert resource who has a particular quid pro quo in mind. Patty's solution involves the ambitious Alex Benjamin, who is ever more desperate to join the firm. For Tom Shayes, the impact of his own financial losses are heavy. The post-mortem on Danielle Marchetti reveals heart failure but Ellen has her doubts. The DA puts in charge of investigating Marchetti's death. Tobin finally meets the mysterious Mr. Zedeck, his father's partner who may have access to the hidden cash. In a flashforward 4 months into the future, the police have evidence that it could have been Tom Shayes driving the car that struck Patty's car in the intersection. They also find something interesting in the trunk of his car.

Tom Shayes travels to Antigua and follows up on his lead as to how Louis Tobin may have been smuggling money out of the country. Zedeck is on to him quickly however and Tom's source of information at the local bank soon dries up. Patty continues to play mind games with Ellen who decides to show her old boss that she too has learned a trick or two. Ellen finds out that Joe Tobin's sister Carol visited Danielle Marchetti the day she died. Not satisfied with her boss' single-minded pursuit of a conviction at the expense of those who were defrauded, she goes elsewhere with the information. In a flashforward 3 months into the future, the detectives confront Ellen about the expensive handbag they've found at the scene of the crime.

Patty and Tom run into a brick wall when trying to get information from the Antiguan bank. Working with Ellen, they focus on trying to find Carol Tobin, who has mysteriously vanished. Tom turns to Barry the homeless man who lives in the neighborhood where Carol was last seen. Having run into Michael Hewes and his pregnant girlfriend in a department store, Ellen innocently congratulates Patty on her soon becoming a grandmother. Patty is soon after her son's companion. Arthur Frobisher tries to get a well-known movie star to be the front man for his new renewable energy venture. In a flash-forward 3 months into the future, Ellen is interrogated by the police where she reveals her and Tom's personal plans.

Patty and Tom focus on getting in touch with Carol Tobin to see if they can learn from her what may have happened on that fateful Thanksgiving day when her father Louis confessed to them that his financial empire was a Ponzi scheme. Her brother Joe and family lawyer Leonard Winstone have her tucked away in an apartment and have convinced her not to leave. A visit to her psychiatrist however gives them the opening to contact her. Her information reveals someone is lying. Ellen meanwhile has to deal with a family crisis when she learns that her sister Carrie has been arrested and charged with a serious drug offence. Her boss makes it quite clear that she is to remain clear of the case and avoid any hint of favoritism. In a flash forward two months into the future, Tom Shayes gives Patty his resignation.

With Patty's help, Ellen hires her investigator, Malcolm, to look into her sister's drug case. She also asks him to look into her own background and particularly her one time babysitter, Ann. Patty meanwhile is under threat of removal from the Tobin case when a group petitions the judge in the case to remove her. She explains the lead with Tessa Marchetti but he gives her one week to come up with something concrete or she's out. Tom wants to lean on Tessa but Patty flatly refuses. Under ever increasing financial pressure, Tom ignores Patty's orders and approaches Tessa pushing the young woman into the arms of the DA. Marilyn Tobin meanwhile is outraged that the charity she has supported for many years will not allow her to make the annual trip to Africa. She suggests to Ray Winstone that he get Stuart Zedeck to help her out.

Ellen visits the woman in her dreams to learn if she is her birth mother but actually learns something far different about her family. Just as Patty decides to move against Tessa, the DA arrests the young woman. Ellen convinces her to turn to Patty for help but finds herself suspended when her boss finds out what she has been up to. Patty however thinks she now knows what was going on with Tessa's regular visits to Antigua and convinces the DA to let Tessa make one more trip to the island. Leonard Winstone has to deal with his own problems when his father shows up at his office unexpectedly, threatening to reveal his secrets.

Patty Hewes meets with Judge Reilly who, given the events in Antigua, decides she is making enough progress to keep her on the Tobin case. While she is very appreciative of his decision, he goes on to tell her about Tom Shayes' financial situation and the loss of all his assets in Louis Tobin's Ponzi scheme. She tells Tom there is only one thing he can do. Ellen meanwhile is surprised when her boss tells that she will be co-prosecuting Carol Tobin for the murder of Danielle Marchetti. Arthur Frobisher oversteps the line when he alludes to the actor portraying him in a film that he once arranged to have someone murdered. When Patty gets hold of the information she goes straight to the DA and Ellen is now hopeful that the murder of her late fiancée David, will now be solved. Leonard Winstone's past comes to light and Ellen makes sure that Joe Tobin knows the details.

Tom and Ellen continue with their plan to get information on the Tobin family's Ponzi scheme from Leonard Winstone even though Patty has inexplicably told them to stop. It all starts to go wrong when Stuart Zedeck learns that someone impersonated him and withdrew money from the charity's account. He sends his henchman to find out what is going on which leads to a confrontation with Tom. Marilyn Tobin meanwhile goes to Patty and agrees to confess to knowing about the Ponzi scheme and to murder if only they will leave her son Joe alone. Patty makes her views on that point quite clear. Patty is surprised when she runs into her son Michael's pregnant girlfriend. She let's Patty know in no uncertain terms that she has no intention of leaving town and that she and Michael are very much enjoying the money Patty gave her. Patty gets her revenge. Ellen's old boyfriend tells her who was responsible for the death of her fiancé David.