A December 1986 Press-Register article reports that Gloria “Lo” Bailey’s trial for the murder of Landon Fitzroy has ended in a hung jury, resulting in a mistrial. Landon, the governor’s son, died on August 4, 1984, during Hurricane Marie. He had a fatal head injury but no water in his lungs. District Attorney Thad Morrison announces plans to retry the case, but University of Alabama law professor Linda Nowak expresses skepticism, arguing that the prosecution can’t prove that a crime occurred. She suggests that the jury recognized that Governor Fitzroy simply wanted someone blamed for his son’s death. The article notes that Landon’s widow, former Miss Alabama Alison Carleton-Fitzroy, attended daily but was absent for the verdict announcement. An anonymous family member states that Lo Bailey will dedicate her life to clearing her name.

In April 2025 emails, Lo Bailey asks her literary agent, Jack Harrison, about podcast profitability. Writer August Fletcher responds, having previously contacted Jack about reviving an abandoned memoir project from the early 2000s. August pitches a collaboration where Lo tells her story and he structures it into a narrative. Lo likes August’s memoir proposal, agreeing to split the money if he handles the writing. August praises her unique voice and confirms the arrangement. Lo immediately asks when they can start.

On June 21, 2025, Geneva Corliss wakes to a text about another air-conditioning failure at the Rosalie Inn, the struggling beachfront hotel she owns and runs in St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama. Her ex-boyfriend Chris convinced her to take over the family business before abandoning both the venture and their relationship, leaving Geneva alone with mounting debt, maxed-out credit cards, and an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) repayment plan. Her best friend and assistant manager, Edie Vargas, urgently summons her to handle overheated guests.

Walking from her Airstream to the inn, Geneva passes Cap, a local fisherman, while mentally tallying needed repairs. Edie delivers bad news: The Baker family has canceled their lucrative Fourth of July reservation. However, she shows Geneva a promising email from writer August Fletcher, who wants a long-term stay from July through possibly September to research a book about Hurricane Marie in 1984—specifically the death of Landon Fitzroy.

Geneva recalls how her mother, Ellen Chambers Corliss, never displayed photos of Marie’s aftermath despite keeping extensive clippings about the Lo Bailey scandal. Since Ellen is now at a nursing home called Hope House due to early-onset Alzheimer’s, her connection to the story remains mysterious. August offers double the normal rate and warns that his true-crime research might unsettle locals. Desperate for money, and being a true-crime fan herself, Geneva accepts.

A replica National Enquirer cover from January 13, 1985, sensationalizes Lo Bailey’s affair with Landon Fitzroy. The tabloid frames Lo as a “teenage seductress” who was barely over 18 when she began her relationship with the governor’s son. He was nearly twice her age and married to former Miss Alabama Alison Carleton-Fitzroy. The cover promises Lo’s “shameless account” of meeting Landon, taken from her own diaries, while noting that Mrs. Carleton-Fitzroy is devastated and in seclusion.

An excerpt from Lo Bailey’s unfinished memoir, which will be found among August Fletcher’s possessions on August 3, 2025, describes her youth in St. Medard’s Bay. Lo explains the loneliness of being the prettiest girl in a small town, recounting how at her ninth-grade homecoming in 1979, senior Tim Murphy tried to force himself on her in a bathroom. When she reported it to chemistry teacher Mr. Oudine, he dismissed her complaint while leering at her body, making her feel complicit in the assault.

Lo’s best friends were Ellen Chambers (Geneva’s mother), whose family ran the local inn now known as the Rosalie Inn, and Frieda Mason. Ellen had a crush on Landon Fitzroy, who often visited the inn, but she was dating local boy Tim Corliss by the 1984 scandal. In her memoir, Lo refers to the inn by its former names, the Sand Dollar Inn and the Ship Wreck Inn. 

Lo explains that Landon’s father, Governor Fitzroy, had recently pressured his son to abandon his law career and pursue politics. On September 3, 1983, Landon walked into The Line, a dive bar where Lo waitressed. She was immediately drawn to how intensely he looked at her, making her feel genuinely seen rather than merely objectified. He requested that the band play the song “Gloria” for her. They didn’t sleep together for six weeks, and Lo fell genuinely in love with him. She concludes that their love is why Landon is dead.

An excerpt from J. Anthony Marsh’s 1988 true-crime book, Deadly Waters, Deadly Love, details the suspicious circumstances of Landon Fitzroy’s death. Landon’s autopsy revealed that he had died from multiple blows to the head, not drowning, even though he was found face-down in the surf near a nature preserve. Coroner Buddy Byrd noted the unusual multiple head wounds and the evidence suggesting that Landon had been dragged across the sand before the storm surge arrived. A jagged, hot-pink fingernail fragment found inside his jacket became key evidence.

Governor Fitzroy pushed the police to investigate Lo after discovering that Landon had vanished from a Birmingham political gala to drive to St. Medard’s Bay. Lo’s story contained inconsistencies: She claimed to have called Landon’s office only once, but his secretary, Linda Green, confirmed two calls, with Landon taking the second. Police Chief Ron Steensland noted that Lo wore a cardigan despite the August heat; underneath, she had fingerprint-shaped bruises on her arms. Her remaining nail polish matched the fragment found on Landon. A friend later came forward describing Lo’s jealousy. Additionally, Landon’s friends told the police about his growing frustration with his teenage mistress. The prosecution theorized that Lo lured Landon to town, they fought on the beach, and she struck him multiple times with a heavy object before attempting to drag his body into the rising storm waters to disguise the murder.