Beckett is hanging on for her life as she clutches the outer edge of a tall building. Her fingers are slipping. If she falls, she's dead. A voice is heard in the distance. Beckett calls for Castle. Will he get there in time? We'll have to wait to find out as we jump back three days to see how she got here.

Alexis is having a hard time writing her valedictorian speech. As for Castle, he'll have the house to himself after the graduation ceremony. He plans to do a John Woo double feature. Beckett happens to be a fan of the acclaimed action director, so she gladly accepts her partner's invitation to join him for a movie date. First things first though. Yes, there's another one of those pesky murders that needs solving.

Orlando Costas is found dead in alley. He was shot in the shoulder with one gun, but the kill shot was done execution-style with another. The victim used to be part of a street gang, but he cleaned up his active to serve honorably in the military. Orlando's girlfriend, Marisol, says he'd been under financial pressure lately. The victim broke into a house before he was killed. That's where he was shot in the shoulder. He stole files belonging to someone the team knew very well: Captain Roy Montgomery.

The new twist in the case leads everyone to believe that the mystery surrounding Beckett's mom's murder is about to be revisited. Castle knows that his partner will be in grave danger if she starts digging again. He assures Beckett that he's there for her as they briefly hold hands. As for the case, the victim called a member of his old gang before he was murdered, but this guy didn't do the killing. In fact, DNA found under the victim's fingernails match DNA found at another crime scene. The team realizes that the man who killed Orlando Costas is the same person who shot Kate Beckett.