Hannibal Season 3 Episode 8 takes place three years after Hannibal was arrested. We are introduced to Francis Dolarhyde, the serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy. We see his obsession with The Great Red Dragon", his growing impulses, and are told of his subsequent murders.

Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Hannibal is being kept at Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, under the watch of Frederick Chilton and Alana Bloom. Alana informs him that he has escaped the death penalty by being found insane.

Frederick Chilton speaks with Hannibal and tells him about the Tooth Fairy.  He detects Hannibal's jealousy at being deemed irrelevant as a new serial killer arises. Frederick later talks to Alana, where they reveal that they lied about Hannibal being insane so that he could be institutionalized forever.

Will Graham is seen at a lakeside cabin, married with a stepson and leading a quiet life. However, Jack Crawford comes to visit, asking for his help with the Tooth Fairy. Jack has figured out that the Tooth Fairy kills every lunar month, and they have about three weeks to catch him before the next family is killed.

Fearing that he will be different after he's done, Will resists, but is encouraged to do the right thing by his wife Molly. Later that night, he reads a letter sent from Hannibal, urging him not to go with Jack.

Will leaves and goes to one of the crime scenes, recreating the murders in his mind. He figures out that the killer touched the victims, putting shards of the mirror in the woman's eye.  The forensic team at the FBI find the prints, but are unable to match it. Will decides that to adopt the mindset he needs to find The Tooth Fairy, he needs to see Hannibal.