Episode 1 of Turn of the Tide Season 3 begins with Silvia, Rafael, and their son, Nuno, picking up Eduardo from prison after three years. Eduardo is eager for revenge. Carlinhos is waiting for them at their usual hideout garage and has shifted Uncle Joe's stuff there. They celebrate Eduardo's freedom, but there's an unresolved tension between him and Silvia. Once everyone leaves, he creates an investigation board on the Brazilian drug dealers.
Rafael narrates that prison hardens a man and makes them paranoid. Eduardo can never let go of a grudge. Due to the mess he's caused, most locals shun Eduardo. However, a victim's relative leads him to the Harbour Security Director. As Eduardo follows him, we see missing posters of Mariana Frias, Detective Frias' kid who went missing in the Season 2 finale.
As for the rest, we see that Silvia and Rafael are tour operators thanks to a boat they've bought on loan. Rafael also coaches the local little league. A good player gets scouted, but his dad doesn't have the money to send him to the mainland, which upsets Rafael. Silvia's mother and Rafael tend to drop the ball while babysitting Nuno, and Silvia is frustrated.
Carlos works as a singer on a Brazil-bound cruise ship but is forced to perform whatever the big spenders want him to. He wants to leave, but Canina, his record producer and drug dealer, convinces him to stay for another year. Detective Frias continues to look for Mariana. There's a voicemail of Mariana telling Frias that a man has broken into the apartment and to save her. He laughs and says, "F**k, this is it. This is it right here." This is the only clue Frias has. A man named Pedro helps her, but she isn't interested in taking his advice. Her unconventional methods have led to five complaints, and Francisco warns her to back off. We learn that she's still suspended and has been pretending to be a cop.
Grandma Rosa never had family and left the theater to Bruna after she died. Bruna has opened a bar inside and screens old movies, but it's not doing well. There are buyers she rebuffs, and she's barely able to pay the bills, which annoys her father, Banha. Eduardo visits her as she refused to read his letters. He apologizes and is quite charming, and we see that she seems to be considering giving him a second chance.
One night, Rafael rants to Eduardo about how he feels overwhelmed with his new responsibilities. He's distracted when he finds the murder board and jumps on the chance to investigate with Eduardo. They call themselves the Night Vigilantes as they tail people.
The Brazilian cruise has a priest who brings a silver suitcase every time they dock on the island. The Harbour Security Director allows him to skip security due to his profession. The priest stops at a cafe before passing the bag to a church-goer. The Night Vigilantes rope in Carlos who goes through the priest's suitcase and finds a gold monstrance.
The narrative unfolds amidst turmoil as Silvia's mother falls prey to a pyramid scheme, prompting a demand for reimbursement from her recruited neighbors. Desperate for assistance, she begs Silvia to help salvage the situation. Silvia suggests selling their ferry as a solution, unaware that Rafael has chosen this precise moment to propose—a gesture she politely declines due to her current lack of interest in marriage.
The Night Vigilantes embark on a daring heist, enlisting Silvia's reluctant participation. Their plan involves stealing the monstrance, selling it for profit, and using the funds to apprehend drug dealers. However, Silvia insists on using the money to assist those in need, adding a humanitarian twist to their mission.
D-Day arrives, and Eduardo and Rafael engage in a tense confrontation at the café. While the priest is momentarily distracted, Silvia expertly switches the genuine artifact for a fake one—a plastic monstrance. To her surprise, Rafael discovers that the "monstrance" is actually cocaine-encrusted, revealing the priest's illicit drug-smuggling activities.
That night, the Night Vigilantes pay a visit to the Harbor Security Director's residence, demanding answers. Silvia wreaks havoc on his collection until he confesses that Lessa, the lawyer, facilitated Ofelia's drug smuggling three years prior. As they depart, Rafael leaves his mark with a graffiti of the Night Vigilantes logo on the director's property.
The director is arrested for stealing artifacts, prompting Banha to inquire if he betrayed them. He denies any involvement, but Francisco, knowing Banha's complicity, cuts him off from further communication with the director.
Silvia's desire to use the cocaine money for good confronts Eduardo's fear of history repeating itself, leading to a stalemate. Rafael celebrates the news, mentioning the Night Vigilantes' involvement. As Eduardo struggles to find fishing gigs and experiences PTSD from his prison days, Rafael reflects on how cruises and pollution have marred the sea's beauty. When Eduardo discovers a boat for sale, Rafael remarks on his persistence, echoing their childhood when Eduardo's father sold their boat so they could escape to America.
Rafael muses that Azores is a prison where true freedom is an elusive dream. The episode concludes with Eduardo being knocked unconscious—a cliffhanger that promises further intrigue and conflict in the coming episodes.
