Celebrating Rita’s win at the Miss Postal Delivery pageant, Oliver, Norman, and Shane decorate the DLO with balloons and streamers. As Rita walks in the team bursts into song and cheers. Rita gushes but insists that she’s still the same person and doesn’t want to be treated differently. And to prove her point, she presents the team with a big dusty box full of lost letters. Given her recent accomplishment, Oliver deems it only fitting that Rita chose the first letter. As luck would have it, Rita selects a “NIFTS” letter. With only two words on the letter, it’s clearly a personal note that was Never Meant For The System, “NIFTS.” The letter reads:

“Dear Pastor Thomas,
You don’t know me but I’ve heard you’re a good man. And that’s why I’m asking for your help. I don’t know what else to do. My Sweet Joshua has a heart condition and needs medical care I can’t give him. “Please, Pastor Thomas, get him the help he needs so he can have a hope and a future. And tell him how much I love him. I can only pray that one day he will be able to find it in his heart to forgive me for what I’ve done.”

Written on a shelter bulletin, the unsigned letter captivates the team so much that they don’t notice Norman walk away. As they discuss possible scenarios for the abandoned Joshua, Norman offers a detailed explanation of the adoption process. Puzzled, Shane asks why he knows so much about adoption. It’s then that Norman reveals he was adopted at age 8. At 16, his adoptive parents convinced him to sign up on the National Adoption Registry and a year ago he received a letter from a family member. Unsure if he was ready to read it, Norman only now musters the courage to read the letter. It turns out the letter is from a very eager Ms. Ardis Parker-Pennington-Paine, Norman’s biological grandmother.

In the mean time, the DLO team locates the shelter where the lost letter originated. The current pastor vividly remembers that night 30 years ago when, as a child, he stumbled across the letter and baby Joshua. The pastor says that eventually Joshua was taken by child services and also had his heart condition treated. After being taken in by a local adoption agency, Joshua’s whereabouts became a mystery. The pastor is able to provide the team with a card from the adoption agency. Later, the lawyer for the agency agreed to contact Joshua, but stipulated that any further contact would be up to Joshua.

At Mailbox Grille, the team eagerly awaits the arrival of Norman’s grandmother Ardis. As the doors burst open, an elegant woman makes her entrance. The vision of Ardis Parker-Pennington-Paine captivates all of the Postables. Ardis immediately heads for Oliver and begins to comment on his stunning good looks. Slightly uncomfortable, Oliver politely directs Ardis toward Norman, and the two share a long overdue embrace. Shortly after, Shane gets an email from Joshua requesting a meeting for the following day. Overcome by a sense of accomplishment, Oliver remarks, “We’re bringing families together right and left this week!

Fresh with encouragement from his grandma, Norman presents Rita with a gift he’d had tucked away. The gift, an “unsquashable” stuffed crab, is a unique reminder of Norman’s unwavering faith in her. At the same time, Oliver and Shane return, slightly down, from their meeting with Joshua. As they talk about the meeting, Rita catches a glimpse of his picture and immediately recognizes him as a state championship winning soccer coach. It turns out that Joshua is actually a twin and Rita’s photographic memory just gave new life to the investigation. When Oliver and Shane meet Joshua’s twin brother Matt, they learn that he still lives with his birth mother. The news of his twin hits Matt hard while his mother struggles to explain her situation. Oliver does his best to comfort mother by telling her that Joshua’s heart condition was been treated and that he is very successful.

Back at the Mailbox Grill, Ardis, Rita, and Shane sit and talk over a cup of coffee. As they talk, Ardis suffers what appears to be a heart attack. She is rushed to the hospital where the entire DLO team gathers. While she will need surgery, as luck would have it, her surgeon is none other than Joshua. Somehow, before the successful surgery, Ardis managed to make a few choice phone calls. One call, to Joshua’s twin Matt, convinces him to show up at the hospital. As Matt talks to a nurse his eyes glance past the DLO team and onto his twin brother. The two immediately know who the other is. The two men sit together and begin to make up for lost time. As they talk, their mother, who also received a call from Ardis, shows up at the hospital. She slowly walks toward her sons, happy that they have been able to meet. Joshua stands up, walks toward her, and stammers, before falling into her arms and sharing a long awaited embrace.

While Joshua has found it in his heart to forgive his mother, Oliver must now confront his feeling towards his wayward wife. While trapped in the bank vault with Shane, Oliver began to compose a letter to his wife Holly. Earlier, while looking for a pair of tweezers in Oliver’s desk, Shane stumbled upon the unsent letter. Shane assures Oliver that she didn’t read the letter, but she can’t hide her feelings about the situation and about him. Unsure if the letter is begging Holly to come home, or if it will signal the end of their marriage, Shane challenges Oliver to conquer his fear and mail the letter. So, standing in the pouring rain, Oliver makes his choice and drops the letter into the mailbox.
The Postable’s sense of satisfaction is short lived. When Oliver and Shane meet Joshua he says the letter means nothing and that his mother isn’t the woman who threw him away. Meanwhile, Norman and Ardis enjoy some long overdue quality time while touring a local cave. During the tour, Ardis reveals that Norman’s mother tragically died two years before. Later, during lunch, Norman talks about his feelings for Rita. Ardis encourages him to live life without regrets and tell Rita how he feels.

Fresh with encouragement from his grandma, Norman presents Rita with a gift he’d had tucked away. The gift, an “unsquashable” stuffed crab, is a unique reminder of Norman’s unwavering faith in her. At the same time, Oliver and Shane return, slightly down, from their meeting with Joshua. As they talk about the meeting, Rita catches a glimpse of his picture and immediately recognizes him as a state championship winning soccer coach. It turns out that Joshua is actually a twin and Rita’s photographic memory just gave new life to the investigation. When Oliver and Shane meet Joshua’s twin brother Matt, they learn that he still lives with his birth mother. The news of his twin hits Matt hard while his mother struggles to explain her situation. Oliver does his best to comfort mother by telling her that Joshua’s heart condition was been treated and that he is very successful.

Back at the Mailbox Grill, Ardis, Rita, and Shane sit and talk over a cup of coffee. As they talk, Ardis suffers what appears to be a heart attack. She is rushed to the hospital where the entire DLO team gathers. While she will need surgery, as luck would have it, her surgeon is none other than Joshua. Somehow, before the successful surgery, Ardis managed to make a few choice phone calls. One call, to Joshua’s twin Matt, convinces him to show up at the hospital. As Matt talks to a nurse his eyes glance past the DLO team and onto his twin brother. The two immediately know who the other is. The two men sit together and begin to make up for lost time. As they talk, their mother, who also received a call from Ardis, shows up at the hospital. She slowly walks toward her sons, happy that they have been able to meet. Joshua stands up, walks toward her, and stammers, before falling into her arms and sharing a long awaited embrace.

While Joshua has found it in his heart to forgive his mother, Oliver must now confront his feeling towards his wayward wife. While trapped in the bank vault with Shane, Oliver began to compose a letter to his wife Holly. Earlier, while looking for a pair of tweezers in Oliver’s desk, Shane stumbled upon the unsent letter. Shane assures Oliver that she didn’t read the letter, but she can’t hide her feelings about the situation and about him. Unsure if the letter is begging Holly to come home, or if it will signal the end of their marriage, Shane challenges Oliver to conquer his fear and mail the letter. So, standing in the pouring rain, Oliver makes his choice and drops the letter into the mailbox.

It’s the night of the finals for the Miss Special Delivery pageant as Norman quizzes Rita on her postal history. As he does, Shane sits and unwraps an old and disheveled parcel containing a wooden puzzle box. A centuries old tradition, puzzle boxes can only be opened through a series or movements. The first compartment of the box opens easily and contains a note that reads:

“Here it is. And remember, wherever you keep your treasure, that’s where your heart will be, too. And that’s the real secret.”

Norman quickly solves the riddle box puzzle revealing a safe deposit box key. A little research reveals that the key originated at the Mountain High Bank. And, as luck would have it, the bank is around the corner from the Brown Palace hotel where the Miss Special Delivery Pageant is being held. While Norman and Rita prepare for the pageant Oliver and Shane head to the bank to finish the delivery. With the bank so close, Oliver and Shane should have plenty of time to make it to the pageant.

At the bank, Shane and Oliver meet Jason, the temp safe manger who’s preoccupied with his phone. Jason is able to tell Shane and Oliver that the safe deposit box they are looking for is delinquent and scheduled to be opened, and have its contents auctioned off. Jason takes Shane and Oliver to the vault so they can inspect the safe deposit box, but while they are in the vault, the bank alarm is triggered causing an immediate lock down. As the giant vault doors seal, all cell service and access to the outside world are closed off. The only contact with the outside world is via the emergency red phone that rings in an empty bank.

Trapped in the vault, Oliver and Shane frantically debate their next move. From his new employee training last week, Jason remembers that in an emergency, the vault seals for 12 hours. Jason also remembers the vault holds about 13 hours of air. With 3 occupants, that leaves 4 hours of air before they begin to suffocate. In the dire situation, Shane paces nervously while Oliver sits down to compose what may be his final letter.

Meanwhile, Rita and Norman arrive at the pageant. Surprised at Oliver’s tardiness, Norman says that Oliver is normally as reliable as “a mule delivering mail bags to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.” Unaware of Oliver and Shane’s predicament, Rita heads off to the stage while Norman waits. In the lobby, Norman overhears a bank patron describe the alarm and evacuation. Hearing the conversation, Norman to put two and two together and concludes that Oliver and Shane are somehow still trapped inside.

Back in the bank vault, Jason opens the safe deposit box. In the box is a stack of letters wrapped in ribbon. With nothing else to do, they open the letters and begin reading. The first of the letters is dated “January 2, 08.” The letters, written from Jonathan and Katherine, are a chronicle of one couples love story. As they read, we learn that Jonathan is a sports writer who covers baseball while Katharine works at the Brown Palace hotel in Denver. The letters chronicle their growing a love that, despite great distance, flourishes via the written word.

Oliver and Shane have finally read all but three of the letters. Enchanted with the story, Shane explains that she must know how Jonathan and Katherine’s story ends. Oliver picks up one letter and reads…

“Sweet Katherine. Sometimes in the night when I’m on the road – in another town – in another room, I hear a train whistle blow outside. I never know where it’s going, but I always lie there, imagining it is headed West to the Rockies, to Denver, to you. And I bless that train as it rolls by. You are the best person I have ever known, even if we have shared little more than a kiss and our hearts on a few pieces of paper. But I have run out of words to express my love and I am running out of road. The road ends where you are, dear friend, dear lady, my love. Will you marry me?”

The response, which Shane reads, is not what anyone could have expected. Instead of a love letter, Shane reads a form letter from Katherine’s employer. The writer, who identifies Jonathan as Katherine’s fiancé, says it is his sad duty to inform Jonathan that Katherine is seriously ill with a rare for of pneumonia. Enclosed is Katherine’s final letter..

“My dearest Jonathan. With the few breaths I have left I want to speak words of love. All we’ve ever shared have been words, but they have been good words and true words. And now I am sending every letter you wrote to me back to you, so that even if we cannot be together in this life, the words we created together can be kept somewhere side-by-side. Dying is hard, my love, but not hopeless. And as I walk through the valley of the shadow, I fear nothing but the thought that I may have left only one word unspoken. Yes. Yes, I will be your wife. Perhaps not in this life, but in your heart forev…

Devastated, a teary eyed Shane searches for another letter or any sign of what happened. Saying she doesn’t know how to pray, she begs Oliver to pray that Katherine survived. Suddenly the emergency phone rings. On the other end of the phone, an Norman and Rita literally jump for joy at having located the lost Postables. Within a few moments, a bank security guard opens the door, freeing Oliver, Shane, and temp vault manager Jason.

Now free, Oliver and Shane track down the recipients of the puzzle box and the letters. As they approach the home, they hear what they think are Jonathan and Katherine in the midst of an argument. They knock on the door and present the box and letters. It’s then Jonathan explains that he is “Jonathan Walker IV” and his great-grandfather wrote the letters. It turns out the box and letters are a wedding gift handed down from generation to generation. The gift includes the message that “the secret to true love belongs somewhere in the letters.” As Jonathan acknowledges his turn in the tradition, Oliver recommends Jonathan and his wife read the letters out loud, together. The experience is not lost on he and Shane as they share an understanding glance, recognizing their own transformation after reading the letters.

Back at the pageant, it’s down to the final question and answer round. Tied for first, Rita steps up to the podium for her final question. The question, “Name thirteen US Government-approved modes of mail transport,” initially has her stumped. She thinks back and remembers Norman’s earlier comment about “A mule delivering mail bags to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.” And with that, Rita clinches the title and is crowned Miss Special Delivery!

While at lunch with visiting supervisor Rebecca Starkwell, Shane gets a double helping of embarrassment. Rebecca reveals that during their last lunch, Oliver overheard everything the two friends said, including Shane’s personal feelings about Oliver. Mortified, Shane is hardly prepared for Oliver’s sudden arrival at the café. Looking for insights on a strange package, Oliver tracked Shane down to her lunch date. The package contains a copy of “The Bible” and was sent directly to the DLO. Inside the Bible is an un-mailed letter which had been used as a bookmark for the last 10 years. The letter reads:

“Dear Michael,

I can explain everything. It’s not what you think. I don’t blame you for walking out, but I can’t let them operate on me unless I know if I die, at least you have the truth.

It’s true Michael, you’re not Abby’s father. Do you remember the night before we got married? It started as just one last girls’ night out. I don’t remember everything, Michael, but I know he said he was going to kill me. Except, he didn’t. But that night, I wanted to die just the same. I decided that I was never going to tell a soul what happened. So, I made it through the wedding with lots of make-up and champagne. A few days later, I saw his face in the Denver City Press. He’d used a gun to assault a kindergarten teacher three days before me. They caught him for that and he went to prison for life. But even though he’s been in jail all this time, I can’t stop thinking about him… There’s always Abby to remind me.

I thought a thousand times about not going through with it. But I couldn’t. Because in the end, it didn’t matter who her father was. All that mattered was who her father was going to be. It’s true, Michael; you are not Abby’s father. But you are and you will always be her daddy. Please forgive me. And if you can’t, I understand. But I have always loved you and I’ve been blessed to be your wife.

Love,

Melissa.”

As it turns out, the author is the now deceased wife of the Denver District Attorney, Michael Wheeler. Ten years ago Michael’s wife Melissa and their daughter Abby were in a horrific rafting accident. When doctors told Michael that his daughter would lose a kidney he immediately offered to donate his. The subsequent blood tests revealed that he was not Abby’s father. He confronted Melissa, who was also being treated in the ER, but before she could explain, Michael stormed off. Melissa would die from her injuries and fearing that she would never have an opportunity to explain, wrote the letter to her husband.

When the letter arrives, a decade later, Michael is working on a speech with his campaign manager, his daughter Abby. Upon picking up the letter he immediately recognizes the handwriting as belonging to his wife. He immediately takes an early lunch and heads to her gravesite to read the letter. What Michael doesn’t know is that Shane has taken a personal interest in the case. She follows Michael to the graveyard and watches as he breaks down reading the letter. Shane is still there when, in a fit or rage, Michael screams out “I will kill him!” Shane runs back to the DLO and tells the team that she thinks, having read the letter; Michael Wheeler is now out for revenge.

The news puts the entire team in a panic. Adding more tension to the situation, Shane hacks into the Denver City mainframe in order to confirm her suspicion. In real time, Shane tracks Michael’s internet activity. Shane watches remotely as Michael learns that his wife’s rapist, Carl Brackner, might get released on appeal. Fearing the worst, Oliver and Shane present their findings to Rebecca Starkwell, in the hopes she can direct them on an appropriate course of action. Rebecca outdoes herself, turning the DLO into a Special Task Force dubbed “The Postables!”

The Postables barley have time to let their promotion sink in before they run to the courthouse to intercept Michael Wheeler. Shane already discovered that Michael closed all of his bank accounts and put a power of attorney in his daughter’s name. At the security checkpoint, Michael manages to slip his briefcase past the guard without inspection. Michael, now tailed by the Postables, makes his way into the courtroom, while an unassuming Rita sits next to him. From the outset, it appears the legal maneuvering will see a rapist set free. Fortunately, the Postables have Rita’s photographic memory on their side. As the judge prepares to rule, Rita cites pertinent case law to the prosecutor giving him the legal ammunition he needs to ensure that Carl Brackner stays in jail. While the lawyers wrangle with the judge, Olvier makes an impassioned plea to Michael, begging him to give them a chance to help make things right. Michael relents, and as he does, Oliver presents him with vital information about his daughter’s health.

As a result of the accident 10 years ago, Michael’s daughter Abby has been undergoing treatment for damage sustained by her kidneys. Without a suitable donor, her options for treatment have been exhausted. The only remaining option is for Michael to confront his wife’s rapist and convince him to donate his kidney. At the prison, Michael confronts the man who ruined his and his wife’s life and is also the father of his daughter. Assuming that Michael is just another victim’s family member looking for closure, Carl tells him to just get on with his condemnation. When Michael tells him that he has a daughter, Carl initially balks at the accusation and request for his kidney. Michael implores him to do something good that matters. Michael asks “How many guys in here ever get that?” The monster, Carl Brackner, relents and Abby’s life is saved.

Given the special circumstances surrounding the mission, the post office throws a celebratory reception to honor the Postables. Norman, still relishing being part of a special task force, arrives dressed live a Secret Service Agent. Imbued with confidence, he even offers to buy Rita a drink. With the entire branch on hand and Rebecca Starkwell at the podium, the Postable team each receives a distinguished service award on behalf of the branch. But what’s more, the Post Master General of the United States has instructed Rebecca to confer upon each of them the highest honor given to a US Postal Worker, The Dark of Night Award.

A new day at the DLO brings a spirited conversation between Oliver and Shane on the definition of “fun.” When Oliver suggests an upcoming weekend seminar on the future of home delivery is the epitome of fun. While Shane snidely responds that, in her mind, the dance classes she and Oliver took were fun. That was until Oliver suddenly decided to stop. That, Shane points out, is a perfect example of disappointment. Needing a break in the awkward exchange, Oliver points out that it’s time to get working on parcels in from the small, unattached items bin.

Filled with items from mailboxes or that fell out of unsealed packages, the unattached items exist “in an odd state of melancholic unbelonging.” Near the top of the box the team finds a CD with a note on the case:

“R.J., play this NOW. It’s a hit and this guy’s a star!
Trust me,
L.H.”

Hoping to learn more, the team has no choice but to open the case and listens to the CD. It’s a studio recording, and while no one recognizes the artist, it’s immediately clear this is someone’s love song. With nothing else to work with, Oliver suggests that Shane head out with Norman to meet Norman’s cousin Serge, “The Pawn Shop King.” Awkward and a little unnerving, Serge has an uncanny mental music database. He immediately recognizes Linda Hawkins, the lead singer of a well-known rock band, as the female backup. With that, it seems they’ve found the “L.H” who wrote the note, but the male lead singer is still a mystery.

Shane is able to contact Linda and, as it turns out, she remembered recording the demo at a nearby studio. The male lead, whose name she can’t remember, had real talent and a personality to match. As she recalled, the song was a sure fire hit and she hoped he would send the demo to her agent. She also reveals that she’d invited him to party with the band that night, but he never showed up. She assumed his girlfriend didn’t want him partying with a rock star. When Shane asks why she thought that, Linda says’ “Nobody writes a song like that about nobody.” Hoping to help out the aspiring musician, Linda passes along the address to the studio where they met, hopeful that Shane and the DLO team can track him down.

Shane and Norman go back to the DLO office to update the team on what they’ve found. As they walk into the office, they catch Rita, in the midst of a Miss Special Delivery pageant photo shoot. Part of a feature in an upcoming issue of “Mail Monthly” magazine, the photo shoot is being run by a dear friend of Shane’s, Rebecca Starkwell. Thrilled to have run into each other, the two friends head off to lunch to catch up. As they chat, the conversation turns to Shane’s co-workers, specifically Oliver. As Shane talks about Oliver’s quirks, her face lights up, revealing that her feelings for him may not be strictly platonic. The two are so wrapped up in their conversation that neither notices Oliver, who’s sitting just in earshot of their entire conversation. However, as she makes her way out of the restaurant, Rebecca turns the corner and sees him sitting at a table by himself. He apologizes for not making his presence known and Rebecca promises to keep quiet about seeing him. She also tells Oliver that his wife was crazy for leaving him.

In the meantime, armed with the information about the studio, Norman and Rita head out in the hopes of tracking down their mystery musician. At the studio, the studio manager, Jennifer Becker, immediately recognizes the CD as belonging to a former employee named Billy. She remembers that Billy was a struggling musician with a hard to pronounce last name. He’d been working at the studio part-time in exchange for recording time. Jennifer didn’t have his address, but she assures Norman and Rita that he would never have just lost something so important. She also said that while he didn’t have much, Billy did own a vintage motorcycle and guitar, a ’52 Gibson J45 that Jennifer still has at the studio. Forlorn, Jennifer says that it’s been a year since Billy recorded that track and that after leaving that night, he never came back.

Back in the DLO office, the team researches vintage motorcycles owned by “Billy’s” with strange last names. Shane locates a likely record registered to a “Billy James Antonopoulos.” She also learns that the motorcycle was involved in a crash over a year ago and that in the aftermath, the driver was admitted to the hospital and never left. The team head to the hospital and find a young man sitting at table playing checkers with a woman who identifies herself as his sister Kelly. While this is the Billy the team is looking for, he looks confused as Oliver hands him the CD. His sister explains Billy suffered a traumatic barn injury in the accident and that as a result, he’s lost his memory. It’s been a difficult recovery and it’s obvious that Billy is pining for something greater than his music. Just a few days before, Billy asked Kelly if he’d ever been in love. The question broke her heart, because she thinks he was.

Not wanting to upset Billy further, the team leaves the hospital. But on the way out, they begin rehashing the situation, and with the picture now clearer, Shane develops a hunch that Jennifer, the studio manager, may be the woman Billy wrote about in his song. She and Rita go to the studio and ask Jennifer in person. As it turns out, she and Billy were more than just friends. She reveals that on the last night she saw Billy, he confided to her that he had written a song for her. She goes on to say that night, Billy wanted to skip the party to be with her, but that she encouraged him to go a make the most out of the opportunity. He gave her a peck on the cheek and left and that was the last time she saw him. She’d always assumed Billy had gotten his big break and resolved that his leaving was the best thing for him.

Now, with all the pieces in place, Shane races back to the hospital with Jennifer in tow. When they arrive and Billy and Jennifer’s eyes meet, he says that he knows he should remember her. The moment immediately convinces Billy’s sister that Jennifer is the girl Billy wrote the song for. Wanting to help, Jennifer hands Billy his guitar saying, “You always said when you played it…it reminded you of who you are.” Starring at Jennifer, Billy begins to strum the guitar strings. As Billy plays, flashes of his past life come to him and the song he wrote for Jennifer flows from him. Sensing their work is done, the DLO team slips away and allow Billy and Jennifer to share the moment they’ve waited for.