Chronicle Mysteries: Vines That Bind

The film opens with Alex McPherson introducing her podcast, 'Recovered,' focusing on the suspicious death of Colton Saunier, a winemaker who died of CO2 poisoning in a vat room. Alex travels to Macklin at the request of her friend Eileen, who suspects foul play. Upon arrival, Alex meets the Saunier family: the brothers Gil and Jackson, Jackson’s wife Mary, and his daughter Caitlyn. Gil reveals to Alex that he found an unsigned will from his father that would have left the entire winery to him, effectively cutting out Mary, whom Colton believed was a gold digger. Shortly after this revelation, while Alex and Eileen are walking the property, a gunshot rings out and Gil is found dead. Jackson is found nearby with a rifle, claiming he was firing warning shots at hunters, leading the Sheriff to detain him as the primary suspect. As Alex and her colleague Drew Godfrey investigate, they encounter several subplots: a local environmentalist named Ryan Abbey who is obsessed with the pollution coming from the neighboring Kelleher farm, and the Kelleher matriarch, Donna, who is engaged in a bitter feud with the Sauniers. Alex nearly dies when she is trapped in the winery's vat room during an intentional ammonia leak, but she is rescued by Drew. Meanwhile, their assistant Chuck discovers that Ryan Abbey is actually the son of a major real estate developer, and that a mysterious entity called Benson Holdings is buying up the town. Through diligent research into corporate filings and restored security footage, Alex and Drew realize that the family lawyer, Victor Lustig, is actually Victor Lustig Macklin, a descendant of the town's founding family who wants to reclaim the land. Victor killed Colton to prevent the new will from being signed and killed Gil to frame Jackson, hoping to force a sale of the devalued, 'polluted' property back to his family. In the climax, Victor attempts to frame Mary by planting her gun, but Alex and Drew confront him at the winery. The Sheriff arrives just in time to arrest Victor after he confesses his motives. The film ends with Jackson being cleared of all charges and the Saunier family reuniting to run the winery, while Alex records the final episode of her podcast episode, reflecting on the cost of family legacy.