William Sherwood, a recovering alcoholic, is flabbergasted when he sees his wife Ruth, who supposedly died in a plane crash a year ago, leaving a hotel. He has no chance to speak to her before she hops into a cab, but her date, Vince Kabat, arranges for her to phone him. William enters the hotel, goes straight to the bar, and starts drinking again until his AA sponsor, Harry Niles, arrives. When the call comes, she claims to be "Lynne Bowman," but William recognizes her voice and his belief that she's his wife is reinforced. She calls again and asks him to meet her at a bar, but she doesn't show and he starts drinking. When he leaves, he finds her dead in a car outside. When Lynne Bowman is found dead later, her sister, Maggie Malecki, identifies her as Ruth. The Medical Examiner determines that the woman was murdered and William Sherwood is arrested. Determining how and why Ruth Sherwood faked her death and lived a new life under an assumed identity is key to Perry identifying the true killer.
—garykmcd