Following the events at the very end of episode 6, we find Joel and Ellie camping out in the garage of an abandoned suburban house, with Joel suffering from a severe injury. Despite Ellie's attempts to stop the bleeding, Joel urges her to leave him behind and head north to find Tommy. As Ellie puts Joel's jacket on him and leaves the house, Joel sheds a tear.
The scene then shifts to a flashback of Ellie in the Boston quarantine zone, jogging in the gym while listening to Pearl Jam's "All or None" on her Walkman. Ellie is interrupted by a classmate, Bethany, who snatches her headphones and tells her to run faster. Ellie tries to avoid a confrontation, but Bethany taunts her by saying that Ellie's friend who used to stand up for her is no longer around. In response, Ellie punches Bethany in the face, resulting in Ellie getting a black eye and being sent to Captain Kwong's office.
Kwong, who usually scolds Ellie for her misbehavior, expresses disappointment at her recent behavior and reveals that Bethany is in the infirmary with fifteen stitches. When Ellie responds with "good," Kwong decides to take a different approach and tells her the truth. According to Kwong, Ellie is intelligent but has two possible paths she could take.
The first path involves continuing to behave like a common soldier, which would lead to a life of menial tasks, poor quality food, and having to follow orders from people like Bethany for the rest of her life. However, on the other path, Ellie could choose to toe the line, obey the rules, and become an officer. This path comes with benefits such as better food, having her own room, and the ability to stand up to people like Bethany. When Ellie questions why Kwong is invested in her success, he explains that if one person falls, it can negatively impact the entire QZ. Kwong believes that Ellie has the potential to be a leader and asks her which path she wants to take. Ellie chooses the latter path and asks for her Walkman back, which Kwong returns to her.
Later that night, Ellie is in her room, reading her Savage Starlight comics while rain pours outside. As she glances over to the empty bed across the room, she realizes someone has crawled into her room while she was asleep. The intruder covers Ellie's mouth, but she kicks the person away and pulls out her switchblade. To her surprise, the person is Riley (Storm Reid), Ellie's former roommate and friend who used to fight. Riley tells Ellie she's fine and that she ran away for a while, but Ellie thought she was dead because she hadn't seen her for three weeks.
When Riley reveals that she joined the Fireflies, Ellie is skeptical, but Riley proves it by showing her gun. Riley promises to tell Ellie everything, but first, Ellie must agree to join her for a few hours and have the best night of her life. Although Ellie initially declines, they both know she will eventually say yes. Riley tells Ellie that their destination is a secret and that she should trust her with her life. The two crawl out of the window and embark on their 2 am adventure.
Ignoring the patrols, the duo climbs down to the streets, and Riley advises Ellie to be selective in choosing her fights, referring to the Bethany incident. They break into a building and ascend seven floors, where they discover a dead man. Riley remarks that the body wasn't there the previous day and that the man mixed pills with alcohol before the outbreak. Ellie seizes the bottle, and the man falls through the rotten floor, startling them initially, but then they laugh.
Riley shares the story of how she met a woman in her 40s or 50s who was impressed by her sneaking skills and offered her a place in the Fireflies after learning about her anti-FEDRA stance. Despite Ellie's doubts about her friend's simple dislike of FEDRA, they continue on their mission by jumping from rooftop to rooftop in the QZ. Ellie notices more lights, implying more people and apartments, suggesting that FEDRA may not be entirely bad. However, Riley argues that FEDRA are fascist and that the Fireflies do not use bombs around civilians, which Ellie dismisses as propaganda. Riley then leads Ellie to an abandoned mall, which Ellie believes is sealed off due to infected. Riley counters that if it was sealed off, why isn't it truly sealed off?
Ellie and Riley make their way down a hole, and Riley explains that the mall was connected to the new apartments when FEDRA installed electricity. She instructs Ellie to go out a door, turn right, and let her know when she gets there. When Ellie reaches her destination, Riley flips a switch and the entire abandoned mall is illuminated. For once, Ellie is rendered speechless, in awe of what is the beginning of the best night of her life. Riley reassures her that no one else can see the lights, just the two of them. But this is only the beginning. Tonight, Riley will show Ellie the Four Wonders of the Mall.
As “Take on Me” plays in the background, Riley first introduces Ellie to an escalator. Ellie is amazed by the "electric stairs" and gleefully goes up and down on them. Ellie asks if this is one of the wonders, and Riley responds by saying, "Sure, there can be five." While exploring the mall, Riley points out that it's not heavily populated by infected. Ellie asks why some stores are still full while others are empty. Riley explains that her mother told her that during the outbreak, some stores were looted while others were left untouched, and people took what they needed or wanted. Ellie notices that the Foot Locker is empty, while The Body Shop is still fully stocked. They then come across a Victoria’s Secret store, and Riley can't believe people ever wanted things like that.
Riley leads Ellie through the mall and asks her to close her eyes, then guides her to a surprise. When Riley tells Ellie to open her eyes, they are standing in front of a working carousel. They both get on horses and enjoy a moment of laughter and childhood innocence while passing a bottle of alcohol between them. However, the moment is cut short when the carousel unexpectedly stops, and Ellie questions why Riley left the quarantine zone. Riley becomes frustrated with Ellie's lack of optimism about their ability to make a difference and improve the situation. She reveals that she was assigned to sewage detail, which made her feel like the QZ didn't value her. Riley admits that Ellie is the only thing she misses from the QZ. After this conversation, Riley tells Ellie that they need to keep moving as there are more things to see.
After exploring the carousel, Riley takes Ellie to a functioning photo booth and pays for their pictures. Ellie is surprised and thrilled to learn that Riley had been waiting to share this experience with her. The two of them make silly poses and take the photos as a memento of their night.
Moving on to the next wonder, Riley instructs Ellie to listen carefully before revealing that it's Raja's Arcade, causing Ellie to run to it in excitement. Despite not having coins, Riley had previously broken into the change machine, giving them a supply of tokens to play the games. They ultimately choose Mortal Kombat II, and after some intense button-smashing, Riley emerges as the victor and shows off Mileena's finishing move. As they continue to play, the camera pans out to show an Infected in a nearby doll shop that has been awakened by the noise.
Ellie and Riley continue their arcade game spree until Ellie finally wins a round as Baraka, executing her own fatality move. As they celebrate, they accidentally get too close and quickly break away. Ellie mentions that it's getting late, but Riley insists that they still have a few more hours. Though Ellie is worried about getting in trouble again, Riley convinces her to keep exploring by revealing that she got Ellie a gift. They make their way to the food court and sneak into a taco restaurant, where Ellie discovers Riley's stash of grenades. Riley admits to making them and Ellie asks if she uses them to kill soldiers. It's then that Ellie realizes that Riley was posted at the mall by the Fireflies.
Feeling betrayed, Ellie storms off, telling Riley that none of this was about her and cursing at her. Riley runs after her and explains that she's leaving for a post at the Atlanta QZ and wanted to say goodbye to Ellie. She had even asked Marlene if Ellie could come with her, but was denied. Ellie is hurt but still decides to say goodbye and walks off alone through the mall.
Ellie initially heads back to where they came from, but upon hearing screaming, she rushes towards it only to find out that it's coming from a Halloween store. Riley surprises her inside and calls it the "fifth wonder." Ellie expresses her frustration, explaining how she thought Riley was dead, then returns, gives her an unforgettable night, only to leave again for a cause that she believes Riley doesn't understand. However, Riley tells Ellie that she doesn't know everything, and she wants to belong to a family again. Although the Fireflies may not be what she thinks, they chose her, and she matters to them. Ellie agrees, saying that Riley is her best friend, and she'll miss her.
Riley, determined to make the most of their remaining time, pulls out a wolf mask and reveals that she has stolen Ellie's Walkman. She hooks it up to a speaker, and they both dance on the store's counter to Etta James' "I Got You Babe." But Ellie eventually slows down and takes off her mask. Riley follows, and Ellie pleads with her not to leave. Surprisingly, Riley agrees, and the two kiss. Ellie apologizes, but Riley doesn't understand why. They both smile and laugh, glad that they still have each other, and Riley reassures Ellie that they'll figure out what to do next.
Suddenly, they are startled by a noise, causing Riley to draw her gun in preparation for a possible attack by an Infected. Unfortunately, one does appear and the two girls flee through the Halloween store. During the chase, the Infected manages to knock both girls down. With Riley unable to fight, Ellie is left to fend off the attacker. Despite her best efforts, the Infected gains the upper hand and pins Ellie down. However, Riley comes to her friend's aid and smacks the Infected with a baseball bat. While the Infected is focused on Riley, Ellie seizes the opportunity to grab her switchblade and plunge it into the creature's head, ending its threat for good. Despite the adrenaline rush from their narrow escape, Ellie is oblivious to the fact that she has been bitten by the Infected. In a desperate attempt to deny what has happened, she frantically tries to rub off the bite mark while yelling "No!" But things get even worse when Riley reveals that she, too, has been bitten on her hand. They both know what this means - they are both Infected and their fate is sealed.
Ellie smashes the Halloween store in a fit of anger and frustration. After calming down, she sits beside Riley, who presents two options. The first is to take the easy way out and shoot themselves, but Riley doesn't favor this option. The second option is to keep going, not to give up, and spend whatever time they have left together, whether it's two minutes or two days. Riley doesn't want to lose that time with Ellie. They can "get all poetic and shit and lose our minds together." When Ellie asks about option three, Riley apologizes, and they cry together.
Back in the present, Ellie searches the house and finds a needle and thread in a drawer. She hurries back to Joel and takes his hand. Although she couldn't save Riley or Sam, she can save Joel. She has found the family that Riley spoke of and is now determined to fight for Joel's life. Ellie sews up Joel's wound, causing him immense pain, but he looks away.
