When DNA evidence exonerates a murderer whom Doggett helped incarcerate thirteen years earlier, the obsessed agent desperately tries to put him back in jail.
In Brooklyn, New York, 1989, cable man Robert Fassl stops his van outside a house on a modest suburban street. As Fassl kisses a rosary, a voice in the shadows directs him to do his job. Fassl gains entry to the house, where he speaks with a teenage girl and her father. Suddenly, the father falls over dead, a screwdriver sticking from his neck, and the teenage girl and her mother are also savagely murdered in the blink of an eye. Fassl looks on in horror. Moments later, two NYPD officers rush in and take Fassl into custody. One of them is John Doggett.
In the present day, Doggett receives word that DNA evidence cleared Fassl of the murders. Doggett is convinced that a mistake has been made, though he admits to Reyes that he did not catch Fassl in the act. Fassl�s attorney, Jana Fain, arranges for him to stay at her enormous estate on his release from prison, where he is introduced to Mrs Dowdy, Jana�s housekeeper.
Shown the room where he�ll be staying, Fassl sees one of the walls defaced with the words "kill her" written in blood.
Assistant District Attorney Damon Kaylor allows Dogett and Scully to review old files pertaining to the case. Meanwhile, Reyes meets with Brian Hutchison, the superintendent of the prison where Fassl was incarcerated. He explains that Fassl�s cell mate was found murdered, and the killer was photographed by a security camera, but didn�t fit the description of anyone held at the prison. A photograph of the mysterious killer shows a Bearded Man seen outside the courthouse when Fassl was set free.
The Bearded Man appears in Fassl�s bedroom, screwdriver in hand. Fassl begs him not to harm Jana.
Scully tells Doggettt that the hair sample used for the DNA test is so similar that it must have come from a blood relative, but Fassl is an only child and both his parents died when he was thirteen. Fassl, meanwhile, discovers the body of Mrs Dowdy stuffed into a dumbwaiter. He disposes of the evidence.
Doggett meets with his old partner Duke Tomasick, who helped arrest Fassl years earlier. Tomasick tells Doggett that he planted the evidence used to convict Fassl, using hair found at a previous murder.
Damon Kaylor shows up at Jana Fain�s estate and tells Fassl he may get some compensation, but Fassl instead begs to be put back in prison. Moments later, the Bearded Man kills Kaylor with a screwdriver, and Fassl hides the body in a sewer tunnel.
Reyes shows Jana and Fassl the photo of the Bearded Man, and Fassl grows noticeably anxious, running rosary beads through his fingers. When Scully attempts to question him, Jana ends the conversation.
Later, Reyes poses a question: What if a devout Catholic was incapable of contrition? She speculates that his sinful side might manifest a second personality, backing this up with the concept of transubstantiation (when a communion wafer transforms into the Body of Christ). The agents then wonder how they can catch a killer who hides within an innocent man.
Later, the Bearded Man insists that Fassl kill Jana Fain, but he refuses to do so. The Bearded Man grabs Jana but, for reasons unknown, lets her go. At Jana�s estate, the agents notice blood on a manhole ladder. Doggett and Reyes descend into the tunnel, where they spot the Bearded Man. Doggett opens fire, but the apparition gets away. After splitting up, Reyes falls into an underground culvert filled with bones and body parts belonging to the Bearded Man�s many victims. Reyes calls Doggett�s name, and as he makes his way to her, the Bearded Man attacks.
The Bearded Man holds the screwdriver to Doggett�s throat, while Reyes tries to reach out to whatever small part of Fassl exists within the Bearded Man. Growing upset, the Bearded Man pulls the screwdriver away and Reyes opens fire. Moments later, the agents realize the Bearded Man is now a dead Robert Fassl.
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