Swan Song

The narrative returns to the present.

Zara and Ed question those who were aboard Hedonism and are surprised to discover most of them don’t know the Richardsons very well at all. Only Busy Ambrose, the commodore of the Field and Oar Club, has stuck by them through the summer. Zara learns from one of the other policemen, Sergeant Dixon, that Ed and his family were also friends with the Richardsons, but cut them off over something that happened during the summer. This case is quite the “swan song” for Ed to be ending on.

The narrative flashes back to the past.

On Coco’s first day at Triple Eight, Leslee shows Coco around the extravagantly furnished and decorated house. Lamont is in the kitchen. When Leslee introduces him to Coco, Lamont pretends like they’ve never met. Leslee also points out the motorboat she bought over the weekend, Decadence, which is moored next to Hedonism.

Coco’s duties include light housekeeping, provisioning, managing events and appointments, and switching off fire alarms during parties. She is to keep track of everything manually, in a notebook Leslee gives her. The Richardsons have also decided to up Coco’s pay from $35 to $50 an hour, including extra for overtime. However, while she will have some downtime, she won’t have days off.

Leslee hands Coco pink polo shirts and white linen shorts—a work uniform she claims Bull insists on. Bull is currently in Indonesia; the country is trying to pass a law that might be bad for Bull’s business. Coco gets her own quarters and transportation: An apartment above the garage and a perfectly restored vintage Land Rover. Coco’s first task is to hand-deliver 100 invitations to a party the Richardsons are hosting on Saturday.

Leslee heads for lunch by boat, captained by Lamont, with whom she is outrageously flirtatious. Before she goes, she tells Coco that she and Bull have a strict rule about staff not dating each other. Coco realizes that this is why Lamont pretended not to know her.

Sharon receives a hand-delivered invite to the “Pink and White Party” (124) the Richardsons are hosting at Triple Eight and is intrigued.

Realtors Eddie and Addison make joint plans to buy waterfront lots, build spec houses, and sell them for a profit. As Eddie contemplates finding an investor, his wife Grace calls and tells him they have been invited to the Richardsons’ party.

Andrea asks on the group text with Phoebe and Delilah whether they’ve received their party invitations; Phoebe has, but there is awkward silence from Delilah. However, Delilah discovers her invitation by the side door instead of the main door, and is relieved, vowing to try harder with Leslee from now on.

The Richardsons’ party guests are awe-struck by the flamboyant display at Triple Eight—the decorations, food and drinks, and even the music is all pink themed. Leslee greets them on the lawn. Sharon notices that although Leslee doesn’t know everyone by name, she knows enough to have invited anyone with connections or status in Nantucket.

Coco is in uniform and on the clock; Lamont, meanwhile, has been given the evening off, so he is dressed in his own clothes. Coco receives a text from Leslee about refilling the ice. When she heads to the laundry room, where the ice maker is kept, Bull is there doing his laundry—he’s just returned from Indonesia. She fetches Bull a drink and tells him that Leslee has laid his clothes out for him already. Bull comments on Leslee making Coco wear a uniform, countering Leslee told her earlier. Bull tells Coco that she can always come to him if she has any issues working for Leslee, as he knows she can be difficult.

At the party, Addison and Eddie pitch the idea of the lots and spec houses to Bull, who is intrigued and invites them over to talk more on Monday. Romeo, who is also in attendance, asks Sharon to dance. While they do, Sharon gets an alert on her phone from the app that monitors her son Robert’s diabetes—his glucose levels are spiking. Sharon and Romeo leave to check in on Robert, apologizing and complimenting Coco.

The party amps up. Leslee has Coco hand out pink wigs to the guests, while she and Phoebe return after a wardrobe change. This is the last straw for Delilah, who is upset that Phoebe has been glued to Leslee’s side the whole evening. Before Delilah and Jeffrey leave, she pours her drink into an orchid pot, knowing this will kill the delicate flower.

As the party ends, some guests skinny dip in the ocean at three o’clock in the morning. Lamont and Coco playfully flirt with each other in the water before Leslee calls him away.

The next morning Ed finds himself on the couch in the Richardsons’ party room, with a number of guests asleep around him in various states of undress. He awakens Andrea and they go home.

The narrative returns to the present.

Zara and Ed question Lamont. The last time he saw Coco was on the boat at sunset: She was passing around champagne glasses right after the Richardsons’ surprise vow renewal. Lamont isn’t sure that Coco was on board when news of the fire broke. He remembers Bull receiving the call before ordering him to turn the yacht back around; Leslee was somewhere else.

Lamont also reveals that the boat’s swim ladder gate doesn’t latch closed properly, and wonders if Coco fell off from there. He knows that Coco is a strong swimmer, which is why he believes she might have survived. He asks if Ed and Zara are also questioning the Richardsons.

The narrative flashes back to the past.

The Richardsons’ party is a huge success and discussed by everyone in town, making them extremely popular and sought after.

Eddie and Addison head to Triple Eight for a breakfast meeting with Bull. On the way, they discuss what cut to give Bull for their real estate development deal. Addison and Eddie present their plans to Bull. To their surprise and delight, not only is he willing to front them the required $21 million, but also proposes a three-way even split rather than demanding the lion’s share of profits.

Isla messages Kacy out of the blue. Furious that Isla still hasn’t left Rondo, Kacy sends her pictures of Coco and Kacy together at the Triple Eight party, feeling gratified when Isla replies immediately and expresses her jealousy.

Coco is subjected to Leslee’s endless self-congratulatory observations about the party. Coco also has an increasingly busy schedule, running a number of errands for Leslee. One of her tasks is to bring in and unpack all the parcels that arrive at the house. Coco is appalled to discover that Leslee has bought a dozen Amalfi lemons, worth almost €300, to display on her kitchen countertops.

Coco overhears Bull yelling at someone on the phone in his study. He spots her and invites her in, apologizing for his language and explaining that his business is not going well. He checks in on how Coco is finding her job, once again acknowledging that Leslee is not easy to work for.

Coco asks for the afternoon off, and Bull immediately allows it. After putting things away, Coco grabs a couple of the Amalfi lemons and some alcohol from the house. Kacy texts with an invitation to join her, Eric, and Avalon out on Eric’s boat, but Coco declines, claiming she has work, and heads out on her own.

Romeo takes Sharon out on his boat at the same time that Eric, Avalon, and Kacy head out on Eric’s fishing boat. Avalon tells Kacy about how Leslee came on to her and Eric, after which Avalon stopped giving Leslee massages.

Coco convinces Lamont to take her out on the Decadence, and they head to Whale Island, a stretch of beach open to boaters on the otherwise privately owned island of Tuckernuck. They picnic together, and she makes them cocktails using the alcohol she took from the Richardsons’ and juice from the lemons. As Coco discusses the cost of the lemons, Lamont opines that Leslee likes expensive things because she comes from a modest background: She grew up in Nevada, where her family owned a gun range. She moved to Vegas after school and put herself through college working as a crepe chef and bartending, which is how she met Bull. Leslee likes attention, so Bull told Lamont that part of his job is to shower Leslee with it. Nothing is actually going on between them.

Coco and Lamont kiss, but are interrupted by Sharon and Romeo, and Kacy, Eric and Avalon, who all arrive at the same time. Kacy is upset that Coco lied to her about having to work. As Coco apologizes, Lamont leaves immediately, not wanting news about his date with Coco to get back to the Richardsons.