The bond between Ray (Giancarlo Esposito) and Graham (Rufus Sewell) is rooted in crime, which serves as the foundation of their friendship. After each job, Ray returns home to his wife, Lily (Robinne Lee), and their young daughter, Hannah (Austin Elle Fisher), while Graham enjoys the freedom of bachelor life.
Following a dangerous job where Ray becomes trapped in a safe and nearly dies, he decides to retire from his life of crime, realizing that he cannot jeopardize his family’s safety any longer.
Ray’s life of crime unravels as family tragedy strikes (Photo: Kaleidoscope/NBC Productions and The Cramer Company)One fateful day, Lily brings Hannah to her workplace at an upscale country club. In typical childhood fashion, Hannah gets into trouble while exploring. Lily’s boss reprimands her, eventually leading to her dismissal and revealing racist tendencies toward the family.
Fueled by revenge against his wife’s employer, Ray partners with Graham for one last heist at the club. Although he manages to steal a valuable necklace, the plan spirals out of control as a fire breaks out, trapping Lily inside. Graham, hearing the approaching police, abandons her to save himself, leaving Ray devastated by the loss.
Following Lily’s tragic death, Ray entrusts Hannah to Ava (Paz Vega), a supportive associate, while he is incarcerated. In stark contrast, Graham evades any repercussions for his actions. While serving time, Ray becomes resolute in seeking vengeance against Graham for his betrayal.
Green: Seven years before
While behind bars, Ray receives a Parkinson’s diagnosis that prompts him to reconnect with Hannah (Tati Gabrielle) and explain his past choices. With the assistance of his cellmate, Stan (Peter Mark Kendall), they devise an escape plan.
Unfortunately, Stan sacrifices himself during the escape, allowing Ray to flee. As Ava manages the FBI agent, Nazan Abassi (Niousha Noor), assigned to the case, she orchestrates a fake death for Ray.
Now living under the alias Leo Pap, Ray discovers that Hannah has started working for Graham, who has adopted the identity of Roger Salas.
Roger has transformed into a prosperous family man and CEO of SLS, the East Coast’s largest security firm. Ray reveals the truth about her mother’s death and Roger’s betrayal to Hannah, setting the stage for a massive heist aimed at revenge against his former friend.
Yellow: Six weeks before
Seven years later, Hannah thrives in her career at SLS, where she assists Roger in securing contracts with three influential clients known as the Triplets.
These clients control immense wealth, including $7 billion in untraceable bonds stored within the SLS vaults, which becomes Leo’s target. With Hannah as an inside informant, Leo gathers a team of thieves to carry out the bond heist.
The team consists of Ava, who specializes in forgery and arms dealing, Stan, responsible for procuring materials, RJ (Jordan Mendoza) as the getaway driver, Judy (Rosaline Elbay) as a chemist, and Bob (Jai Courtney) for safecracking. To finance their elaborate plan, the group executes a smash-and-grab heist at Diamond Way.
Orange: Three weeks before
Agent Nazan renews her investigation into Ava after uncovering her fingerprints from the diamond heist. As a former drug addict, Nazan remains focused on her work to maintain her sobriety.
However, her past becomes a weapon against her as she connects Ava with the other heist members, finally leading her to Leo. She attempts to recruit Ava as an informant for the FBI, but Ava firmly declines. To deflect Nazan’s attention, Ava frames her for drug possession.
Hannah learns the shocking truth about her mother’s death and Graham’s betrayal (Photo: Kaleidoscope/NBC Productions and The Cramer Company)Despite her attempts to evade trouble, Ava faces dire consequences when her nanny Teresa (Irene DeBari), her sole family connection, is apprehended by the police.
Nazan presents Ava with a final ultimatum: assist the FBI, or Teresa faces deportation by ICE. With everything on the line, Ava reluctantly agrees to cooperate with Nazan.
Blue: Five days before
As the heist date approaches, Leo reviews the intricate plan with his team, leading to rising tensions, particularly between Bob and Stan, who argue over Judy.
Bob suggests they should pocket all the money for themselves. Simultaneously, Roger receives an ominous call from an unknown number warning him that nothing is secure, prompting him to heighten security at SLS.
White: The heist
Despite a hurricane bearing down on New York City, the heist proceeds as planned. The team stealthily infiltrates the SLS vault with all the security hacks in place.
Initially, everything goes smoothly, but interpersonal distrust complicates matters. A broken water main forces the team to adapt their original strategy, allowing them to secure the bonds while keeping the FBI at bay.
Ava proves loyal by misleading Nazan about the heist’s location. Yet, the true mastermind, Hannah, reveals her hand when she and her adopted sister Liz (Soojeong Son) intercept the bonds during transport to RJ’s getaway truck. They repackage the majority of the bonds into FedEx boxes for redistribution to the Triplets, leaving behind a small sum for the heist crew.
As the FBI closes in, tensions erupt among the heist members. Judy kills RJ, Bob shoots at Stan, Judy strangles Bob, and Ava escapes with the getaway truck, mistakenly believing it contains the bonds.
Although the heist collapses, Leo has a contingency plan. He plunges into the flooded vault to place the necklace he stole during the country club heist 24 years earlier.
Red: The morning after
With spirits low, the surviving members of the heist crew attempt to decipher where their plan failed. The absence of the bonds raises suspicion, leading Judy to declare that there’s a traitor among them. With Bob presumed dead and RJ actually dead, suspicion mounts. Leo conceals his knowledge about the bonds’ whereabouts.
Meanwhile, the FBI launches its investigation at SLS. Although the bonds are missing, Hannah reassures them that they remain secure. However, the FBI uncovers the necklace from the country club and arrests Roger. While Leo does not recover the bonds, he achieves a measure of revenge.
Pink: Six months after
Roger now faces serious charges, including grand larceny, identity theft, and murder, while the remaining heist members hide and face financial ruin. Although presumed dead, Bob resurfaces, aiming to reunite with Judy, who is evading the law with Stan.
Bob and his associates kill Ava and her nanny Teresa, with Bob fixated on eliminating Stan next. Before he can act, he engages in a gunfight with Nazan, resulting in his death. Determined to solve the heist mystery, Nazan mysteriously collapses and dies, leaving the case unresolved.
With little to lose and his health declining, Leo reconnects with Hannah, who has become a mother. He also visits Roger in prison, seeking closure regarding the country club heist.
After their meeting, Leo exits the prison, unaware that someone is following him with a gun. As he enters a tunnel, a gunshot rings out, and the screen fades to pink.
Is Leo actually dead?
Garcia offers insight, stating, “The intention here is not whether Leo lived or died, but that Leo is going to forever be caught in a loop. The cycle will, in some way, continue — even if just a bit metaphorically.”
Numerous Easter eggs permeate the eight-episode series, with one of the most important clues regarding the characters’ fates. Characters with names that are palindromes (Pap, Salas, Ava, Bob, RJ Jr., and Nazan) end up either dead or incarcerated.
As for Leo, his fate remains ambiguous, leaving viewers to interpret whether he lives or dies. Although Hannah’s name is also a palindrome, she manages to break free from the cycle of crime and begins spelling her name as “Hanna,” as depicted in the Pink episode.
