Detective Michael Ormewood investigates the murder of Aleesha Monroe at Grady Homes and discovers her tongue was bitten off.

GBI Special Agent Will Trent joins Michael's case and presents files linking Aleesha's murder to similar attacks on young girls.

Michael and Will travel to Grady Homes and question Aleesha's pimp, Baby G, about her murder.

Michael rushes home and finds his neighbor Cynthia's body tangled in the fence, then reveals she was only 15 years old.

Recently released ex-convict John Shelley discovers at an electronics store that someone has stolen his identity and built excellent credit.

John retrieves discarded credit reports from a dumpster and identifies his cousin Woody as the identity thief.

John visits his former prison cellmate Ben Carver and arranges to borrow a car so he can surveil Woody.

John follows Woody for two months and discovers that Woody uses John's stolen identity to conceal crimes against young girls.

John breaks into Woody's house and finds a collection of child pornography and an old folding knife.

Cynthia confronts John in Woody's house, runs away, falls over the fence, and dies; John cuts out her tongue and hides it.

Will and Angie lure John to a diner and place him under arrest for questioning about the murders.

Angie breaks into Michael's house and discovers Jasmine tied up and bleeding in the garage; Michael knocks Angie unconscious.

Will demands John reveal where Michael has taken Angie; John gives him the address of a Tennessee mountain cabin.

Angie stabs Michael repeatedly in the cellar just as Will and John burst into the cabin; Michael dies.

John and Joyce arrive at Aunt Lydia's house to confront her about her role in John's wrongful conviction.

Detective Michael Ormewood investigates the brutal murder of Atlanta sex worker Aleesha Monroe, and GBI agent Will Trent joins the case, connecting it to a string of similar attacks on young girls. Meanwhile, recently released ex-convict John Shelley discovers his cousin Woody has stolen his identity and spends months surveilling him, uncovering a pattern of crimes against minors. John's covert investigation leads to a tragic confrontation at Woody's house that ends in the accidental death of Woody's teenage neighbor Cynthia, drawing all three men into the same dangerous orbit. Will and Angie close in on John as a suspect, but the real threat is Michael Ormewood, revealed to be Woody himself, who kidnaps Angie and a young girl named Jasmine. The story reaches its violent climax in a Tennessee mountain cabin where Angie fights back against Michael, killing him just as Will and John arrive, with John saving Jasmine's life. John's final act is to confront his aunt Lydia, demanding acknowledgment of the decades-long conspiracy that sent him to prison for a crime he did not commit.

The core murder investigation and its violent resolution.

A newspaper clipping reports that 15-year-old Mary Alice Feeney was found murdered in her affluent Decatur home.

Michael returns home after Aleesha's crime scene and suffers nightmares and flashbacks from his time fighting in the Gulf War.

Gina asks Michael to help neighbor Cynthia with a loose floorboard; Michael goes next door and continues their illicit affair.

Michael and Will attend Aleesha Monroe's autopsy, where coroner Pete determines she choked to death on her own blood.

Michael introduces Will to Vice officer Angie Polaski, who reluctantly discusses Aleesha Monroe's background and her pimp.

John's drug addiction, introduced by cousin Woody, deepens until John's father disowns him after John overdoses on cocaine.

John defends a sex worker named Robin from a violent assault by his coworker Ray Ray at the car wash.

Parole officer Martha Lam finds a planted knife during her inspection of John's room and warns him a police officer is targeting him.

Will receives a call from Cecil reporting that his sister Jasmine is missing and immediately drives to Grady Homes.

Will finds a returned letter containing a cross necklace in Aleesha's mailbox and brings it to Angie's house.

Angie visits Gina at the hospital, discovers her bruises, and learns that Michael has been physically abusing her.

Will visits Aleesha's mother Miriam in her wealthy neighborhood and delivers the news that Aleesha has been killed.

Angie visits Michael's former partner Ken and learns that Michael lied about his whereabouts on nights girls were attacked.

John meets Kathy, his sister Joyce's partner, who reveals that Emily spent years compiling evidence to prove John's innocence.

Michael drags Angie into a Tennessee mountain cabin, breaks her wrist, and throws her and Jasmine into the cellar.

This pool traces the supporting evidence, background details, and secondary investigation moments that surround the main murder case. Beginning with the original newspaper report of Mary Alice Feeney's 1985 murder, these events document Michael's troubled home life, the forensic examination of Aleesha's death, and John Shelley's difficult early efforts to rebuild his life after prison. Key investigative breakthroughs emerge as Will and Angie gather testimony from victims' families, confirm Michael's history of abuse and deception, and uncover the physical evidence that ties him to the crimes. John's emotional meeting with his sister's partner, who reveals Emily's lifelong effort to prove his innocence, deepens the story's portrait of systemic injustice and its human cost. Michael's escalation to kidnapping Angie marks the story's point of no return, as the predator he has always been finally steps fully into the open.

The backstory, supporting investigation, and key secondary moments.

A newspaper clipping reveals police arrested a 15-year-old boy for Mary Alice's murder after witnesses saw him leave the party with her.

Parole officer Martha Lam arrives without warning before sunrise to inspect John's room, exposing the invasive restrictions placed on newly freed ex-convicts.

Woody delivers Valium to John's house the morning after Mary Alice's death; John later wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed.

John arrives at Coastal State Prison, where his cellmate Zebra repeatedly rapes him and trades him to other inmates.

At his parole hearing, John falsely confesses to murdering Mary Alice in order to secure his release and reach his dying mother.

While conducting surveillance, John watches Woody kiss the 15-year-old Cynthia in his backyard, confirming Woody is Michael Ormewood.

At Woody's teenage party, Woody kisses Mary Alice aggressively and rips her shirt; she stops him and asks John to take her home.

At Mary Alice's house after the party, John passes out after snorting cocaine and wakes to find her mutilated body.

Angie hands Will a crumpled note with John Shelley's name, obliquely revealing she has been working undercover as Robin.

Angie reflects on her traumatic childhood in foster care and her complicated, trauma-bonded relationship with Will.

Leo tells Will that Gina filed a restraining order against Michael; Angie confirms that Michael physically abuses Gina.

John and Joyce compare notes and realize that Aunt Lydia secretly worked to protect Woody, contributing to John's wrongful conviction.

Will speeds toward Tennessee with John; Amanda reveals she has always known about Will's dyslexia and promises to help him.

Trapped in Michael's cellar, Angie uses broken glass to cut her ropes, head-butts Michael, and seizes his knife.

After Michael's death, Will and Angie discuss their complicated relationship, and Will decides to adopt the neighbor's abandoned chihuahua.

This pool focuses on the hidden truths and pivotal moments of revelation that fundamentally reshape understanding of the narrative. From a newspaper clipping confirming the arrest of a teenage boy for Mary Alice's murder to the devastating flashbacks showing what actually happened at Woody's party and in Mary Alice's bedroom that night, these events expose the systemic corruption and personal betrayals that sent John Shelley to prison for twenty years. Key turning points include John's false confession at his parole hearing, his surveillance discovery that Woody and Michael are the same man, and the quiet realization with Joyce that their aunt Lydia actively worked to destroy John's case. The pool also traces Will and Angie's deeply personal backstories, including the moment Angie's undercover identity as Robin is revealed to Will, and Amanda's disclosure that she has always known about Will's dyslexia. It closes with Angie's desperate and bloody fight for survival in the cellar and the quiet aftermath in which Will and Angie begin to reckon with everything they have endured.

Hidden truths, shocking revelations, and the pivotal moments that reframe the story.