Presumed Guilty

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, physical abuse, substance use, illness, addiction, death, and sexual content.

On September 13, 2023, Rusty Sabich and his fiancée, Bea Housley, discover that Bea’s adopted son, Aaron, isn’t home. Aaron, on probation for a felony drug conviction, isn’t supposed to drive or be out of contact, but he turned off his cellphone so no one can reach him. Rusty doesn’t want to report Aaron’s absence to the judge yet, as he assumes Aaron will return within the day. Rusty and Bea worry that Aaron has relapsed.

Rusty reflects on his work as an arbitrator in Skageon County, where he’s lived for 14 years. Before his move, Rusty spent two months in Kindle County prison, convicted of murdering his wife, Barbara, before being exonerated. Rusty chose to recover in Skageon away from the limelight. Skageon’s major hub is the fashionable Como Stop, but the rural region is primarily small towns and farmland. Rusty and Bea live on Mirror Lake, where Rusty, Barbara, and their son, Nat, used to vacation.

During these vacations, Rusty would bike to the town of Mirror to pick up the Kindle County Tribune—a habit he continued when he moved back.