Violet, a widowed mother, finally decides to go on a date after being single for quite some time. The end of her previous relationship, which resulted in her son Toby’s birth, wasn’t exactly a healthy one.
To give herself a break, Violet leaves her son under the care of her sister Jen for the night while she heads out to The Palate, a fancy restaurant on the top floor of a tall building.
When Violet arrives, she gets a text from Henry, her date, explaining he’s running late. She decides to have a glass of wine at the bar while waiting. At the bar, she meets the friendly bartender Cara, a flirtatious pianist Phil, and Richard, a nervous man awaiting his blind date.
A date turns deadly when Violet faces an impossible choice (Photo: Drop/Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes)Violet’s night out turns into a race against time to save her family
Just as Violet begins to settle in, she receives a mysterious message via Digi Drop, a fictional version of AirDrop, but she declines it. Henry soon shows up, carrying a camera bag, and they begin their meal.
Despite trying to enjoy the night, Violet receives several increasingly unsettling messages via Digi Drop. She brings it up to Henry, who brushes it off as a prank. However, when he investigates, he determines that the sender must be close by.
As they continue their date, Violet receives another message from “Let’s Play,” telling her to check her security cameras at home. The camera shows a masked man with a gun in her house, threatening her family.
The Stakes Rise for Violet
The situation escalates rapidly when “Let’s Play” blackmails Violet, claiming they can see everything she does through her cloned phone. If she alerts the authorities, they will kill Toby.
The blackmailers demand Violet steal and destroy an SD card from Henry’s camera. She complies, even though she discovers photos of politicians and wire transfer statements on it. Soon after, she is given an impossible choice: kill Henry to save her son, or risk everything.
Violet is instructed to use poison from the bathroom, a substance that will kill Henry without pain. Initially unwilling to take a life, Violet struggles with the decision but is aware of the surveillance on her.
Despite her reservations, Henry senses that something is wrong. When he attempts to leave, Violet kisses him to convince him to stay, knowing that Toby’s life depends on Henry not leaving.
A Dark Twist Plays
As their dinner progresses, Violet tries to subtly communicate her distress, including reaching out to Phil, but this attempt only results in Phil’s death. Meanwhile, the masked man at her house assaults Jen, leaving her unconscious and locking Toby in his room.
Violet now realizes the gravity of the situation and decides that the only way to save Toby is to go along with the plan. She persuades Henry to take a shot with her, to poison him.
Revealing ‘Let’s Play’
Violet’s plan takes another turn when she knocks over her purse on the way to the bar, revealing the watch she had pretended to lose. At the bar, she prepares to poison one of the shots but receives another message instructing her to do it at the table.
Returning to her seat, Henry confronts her about the watch, leading to a moment of honesty between them. Violet confesses that she stayed in an abusive relationship for years, even after Toby was born, and that she’s still haunted by the trauma.
Just as Henry opens up about his past, Violet decides to go through with the poisoning. But she has a sudden change of heart and spills wine on him to prevent him from drinking the poisoned shot.
The Truth Behind ‘Let’s Play’
Later, as Henry steps away to clean up, Cara approaches Violet and points out that Richard has been watching her all night. Violet realizes that Richard must be behind the “Let’s Play” messages. She approaches him with a shot, but he immediately drops his friendly facade and reveals his true intentions.
Richard, with the help of others, has been orchestrating this whole situation to cover up a larger conspiracy involving the mayor’s fraud. Henry, it turns out, is an FBI informant.
Richard explains that he plans to frame Violet for Henry’s death and claims that the poisoned shot was made from drugs Violet often prescribes. The plan is for her to take the fall, making it look like a “widow assassin strikes again,” even though Violet didn’t kill her husband.
A Dramatic Climax
As Henry and Richard continue their tense conversation, Richard finally reveals his true colours. He forces Henry to drink the poisoned shot, but Violet begs for one more minute. Richard then calls off the plot to kill Toby and informs Violet that her son will be safe.
A mother’s love and fear collide under the weight of dark threats (Photo: Drop/Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes)In a final twist, Violet reveals that she only pretended to poison Henry’s drink, and during their earlier conversation, she had actually poisoned Richard’s dessert.
Furious, Richard pulls out a gun and shoots at Violet, but Henry pushes her out of the way and takes the bullet himself. The tension escalates further when one of Richard’s bullets hits a glass wall, causing cracks to form.
The Final Showdown
Violet grabs the closest object she can find: the hockey puck Henry had bought for Toby. She throws it at the window, causing it to shatter and send Richard flying out into the open air.
The powerful wind pulls Violet out as well, but she manages to hold onto a tablecloth. Henry, bleeding from his wound, pulls her back inside, and the two make a quick exit, knowing that Richard’s death has triggered a response to kill Violet’s family.
At home, Violet finds Jen fighting off the masked intruder while trying to protect Toby. With a quick-thinking move, Violet grabs a kitchen knife and stabs the man in the chest, but not before he throws her across the table. As he prepares to finish her off, Toby uses his toy truck to deliver a gun to Violet, allowing her to kill the intruder.
What Happens to Henry and Violet?
The film concludes with Henry and Jen recovering from their injuries in the hospital. The news informs viewers that the mayor’s office has been implicated in an embezzlement scandal.
Violet visits Henry, bringing him food and thanking him for saving her life. The two agree to meet again for a second date, ending their ordeal with a promise of hope.
