High Potential opens with a mystery that drives much of the plot of the series: the sudden disappearance of Roman Sinquerra. The pilot makes it clear that Roman, who once lived with Morgan Gillory and their young daughter, Ava, vanished one day while running a simple errand. That missing-person thread ties into police work, family strain, and secrets that slowly unfold throughout the season.
High Potential uses Roman’s absence as more than a plot point. Morgan’s choice to accept a consultant role with the LAPD is partly motivated by a promise to use department resources to look into his case.
As the story unravels, viewers learn facts that change what characters thought they knew; for example, the revelation that Roman’s car was impounded with diapers and milk inside led to suspicion that he may have been working with federal agents before he vanished. These concrete details push the investigation in new directions and shift how Morgan and her daughter see the past.
Who is Roman on High Potential?
Roman Sinquerra is depicted as a local artist and Ava’s biological father. Trying to make ends meet, he and Morgan lived together early in their lives as a household in Los Angeles.
The family scenes that appear as flashbacks paint Roman as a father completely involved in his daughter's life, which is why Morgan refuses to believe he left by choice. This basic family setup provides the series with an emotional center. The missing father affects a daughter who grows up without memory of him, and a mother who keeps searching.
The disappearance and key pieces of evidence
Early episodes of High Potential lay out the moment that changes everything: Roman left to buy diapers and never returned. The show offers the viewers a specific piece of physical evidence.
Roman’s car was impounded with a box of diapers inside, and he used that item to argue he had planned to come back. That car detail is repeated in police reports and in conversations between detectives and Morgan, and becomes a central reason Morgan keeps pressing detectives to reopen the file.
What do investigators uncover later in the season?
As the Major Crimes Unit digs deeper, they uncover that Roman had ties beyond the neighborhood murals he painted. The series High Potential reveals he acted as an informant for federal agents before he disappeared.
This fact raises new possibilities; he might have been silenced for what he knew, or placed somewhere for protection. The show uses interviews, seized records, and informant leads to change the case from a simple missing-person file to one tangled with law enforcement and possible undercover activity.
How does Roman’s absence shape Morgan and Ava?
Roman’s absence is an emotional engine for the show. Morgan’s search is both professional and personal. She uses LAPD access to chase leads that other parents might not be able to.
Ava, now a teenager, mostly remembers short, warm images of a father she barely knew and struggles with feelings that she was left behind. Scenes in later episodes show moments where Morgan tries to explain evidence or lack of answers to Ava, which creates tension in their home life and affects Morgan’s choices at work.
Season 2 of High Potential is set to premiere on Tuesday, September 16, on ABC. The show is available to stream on Disney+.