Episode 1 of *Hotel Costiera* opens with Daniel De Luca, a rugged ex-Marine scraping by on a series of odd jobs—including rescuing the kidnapped pup of a billionaire heiress. As he effortlessly subdues the bungling thugs, a glimpse of his inner turmoil surfaces; he stands at a crossroads, though life feels somewhat manageable working at Augusto’s luxury hotel in Positano, where he ensures guests’ every whim is met and indulges in carefree nights out.
Enter Aaron Tarsky, a cutthroat business mogul vacationing with his much-younger wife, Sheryl, whose frosty relationship with Aaron’s daughters and grandchildren—all tagging along—creates palpable tension.
Meanwhile, Daniel’s attention is split: he’s also scouring the coast for Augusto’s missing daughter, Alice, who vanished a month prior. A tip leads him to a man claiming to have spotted her in Naples two weeks earlier, but the lead fizzles out. A flashback reveals Alice and Daniel share a history—she harbors affection for him, though she’s bristled at the idea of joining the family hotel empire, often clashing with her father. When she disappeared, she sent Augusto a cryptic text: *Don’t look for me*.
Now, only Augusto and Daniel fret over her absence. Her sister, Adele, the hotel’s no-nonsense manager, scoffs that Alice will slither back once her funds dry up.
Elsewhere, Aaron and Sheryl embark on a boat ride. She dozes off; he dives into the azure waters. When she awakens, he’s vanished. Augusto tasks Daniel with solving the mystery, while the Tarskys spiral into paranoia, convinced Sheryl orchestrated Aaron’s disappearance to seize his fortune. They’re desperate to keep it quiet—their company is embroiled in a hostile takeover, and any hint of scandal could tank stock prices and scare off buyers.
Daniel assembles his ragtag crew: Genny, the perpetually cynical skeptic; Tancredi, a human database of trivia; and Bignè, the local fixer who “knows everyone.” Their search yields a grim discovery—Aaron’s severed hand washing ashore. Genny, ever the pessimist, accuses Sheryl of murder. The hunt intensifies, but the coast holds its secrets tightly.
Now a prime suspect, Sheryl attempts to enlist Daniel's aid in her desperate bid to flee. She insists that they are both kindred spirits, driven by avarice and willing to go to any lengths for the right price. Daniel merely flashes her a cryptic smile. Undeterred, he persists in his investigation, for he is not one to abandon a task midway.
Soon, the team uncovers a startling revelation: Aaron is not dead. In a cunning scheme, he had shorted his own stocks, pocketed the ill-gotten gains, and staged his own demise. This calculated move not only lined his pockets but also served as a cruel punishment to his daughters by scuttling the deal they had been counting on.
Fortunately for the team, Aaron's own grandchildren's drones inadvertently captured his daring escape. Daniel, tracking his quarry, discovers Aaron marooned in a secluded cove and escorts him back to the hotel. The reunion is anything but joyous, but the team can at least take solace in the fact that they've earned the reward money. Bigne jests that Genny had been consumed with worry for Daniel during the rescue, but she brushes it off with a laugh.
As they celebrate their success, Daniel's mind remains preoccupied with thoughts of Alice. Bigne, sensing his friend's unease, suspects he might be evading something but reminds him that he has a family waiting for him. That night, Sheryl, in a celebratory mood after finalizing her divorce, seduces Daniel. As a token of gratitude for his help in clearing her name, she hands him a photograph. In the background, Alice can be seen locked in a heated argument with a man.
The scene abruptly shifts to a flashback set in Naples a week earlier. A man, his demeanor menacing, forces Alice to accompany him somewhere. He attempts to shove her into his car, but when she resists, he brandishes a gun, the threat palpable in the air.
