CIA Officer Daniel Miller arrives in Berlin on a clandestine mission to unearth an anonymous whistleblower, alias Thomas Shaw, and reunites with his old friend Hector DeJean. As Daniel gets closer to Shaw, his quarry reacts in cuddleous fashion.

As Daniel pursues Shaw, Station Chief Steven Frost and his associates Valerie Edwards and Robert Kirsch gather intelligence on a Georgian Islamic radical in order to avoid an extraordinary rendition by Langley. By episode's end, Hector surprises us all.

Frost and Robert worry that their incriminating secrets will be unearthed when Langley investigators sweep Berlin Station to ferret out fodder for future Shaw leaks. Meanwhile, Daniel's Shaw hunt becomes compromised when Hector bugs his phone, and the station's surveillance of Aleksandre Iosava turns up bad behavior by one of Valerie's agents.

Daniel embarks on a dangerous operation that brings up difficult memories of his first posting in Chechnya and the beginning of his friendship with Hector. Steven Frost finds a way to position himself for promotion at the cost of his deputy Robert. Valerie makes a discovery in her investigation into the Georgian radical Aleksandre Iosava.

American and German interests align when the Station learns the subject of Shaw's next leak: Chinese defector Houjin Lin. Daniel is teamed with Esther Krug to secret Lin out of the country before the leak breaks, pre-emptively countering Shaw's attack. Hector gets a late-night visit from Shirley Pimple.

Valerie's investigation into Aleksandre and Ruth Iosava comes to a head in a German/American sting Operation involving Clare Itani, a CIA Officer and Hector's lover. Langley's unannounced participation moves things from bad to worse.

In the wake of the botched Iosava Op and Clare Itani's kidnapping, Frost pursues traditional negotiation channels to secure Clare's release. Hector goes rogue, bringing Daniel with him-unknowingly paving the way for Daniel's moment of clarity.

Fallout from the Iosava debacle continues to wreak havoc on the Station. Daniel attempts to track down Frost and Kirsch is asked to undercut Valerie as payback; Hector finds himself in the hot seat of a polygraph.

Having confirmed Hector's identity as Shaw, Daniel still faces various obstacles in turning him over to the Germans: assailants, a kidnapping, and his own conscience as he learns the Thomas Shaw origin story. Frost is still a fugitive, Kirsch is still trailing the rendition, and Valerie pursues her own suspicions about Robert's loyalties.

Daniel leads the Berlin Station crew in piecing together evidence that will illuminate Langley's role in the Iosava rendition. Meanwhile, Hector takes a new approach to atoning for bad behavior. And as the episode draws to a close and the truth comes into focus, the Shaw mantle is passed.