A detective discovers Cameron Young's naked body hanging from the balcony of his Catskill Mountains mansion, with signs of bondage.

Victoria Ford's lawyer warns her that her blood and urine found at the crime scene will lead to a murder indictment.

A DNA technician at the New York Medical Examiner's Office discovers a match identifying the remains of Victoria Ford from the 9/11 wreckage.

Avery Mason escapes from a deliberately submerged minivan for American Events, setting a record for the show's ratings.

Avery stops at Connie Clarkson's sailing camp in Wisconsin and finds a postcard from her fugitive father hinting at his hiding place.

FBI agent James Oliver secretly recruits Walt Jenkins to surveil journalist Avery Mason and uncover her fugitive father's hiding place.

Avery meets Victoria's sister Emma Kind, who plays audio recordings of Victoria's final phone messages made from inside the North Tower on 9/11.

Victoria's recorded messages proclaim her innocence in Cameron's murder, and Emma asks Avery to use American Events to prove it.

Avery and Walt Jenkins meet for the first time and agree to investigate the Cameron Young murder case together for American Events.

Avery discovers a USB drive among Victoria's belongings containing manuscripts that match exactly with Natalie Ratcliff's published novels.

The Medical Examiner confirms that Victoria's identified remains consisted of only a single tooth, raising the possibility she survived the 9/11 attacks.

Dr. Jarrod Lockard reveals chemical analysis proving the blood and urine found at Cameron Young's crime scene were deliberately planted.

Avery calls Garth at his hiding place and tells him she will visit on Sunday while Walt secretly records the conversation.

The FBI raids Ma Bell's cabin in Lake Placid and arrests Garth Montgomery, who is told his daughter orchestrated the raid.

Avery airs her American Events special on Victoria Ford without revealing Victoria is alive, and publicly discloses her own past as Claire Montgomery.

A detective discovers Cameron Young's body at his Catskills mansion in 2001, making Victoria Ford the primary suspect in his murder. Twenty years later, the identification of Victoria's DNA remains prompts journalist Avery Mason to investigate the case for her news program American Events. Working alongside former FBI agent Walt Jenkins, Avery uncovers manuscripts proving Victoria ghostwrote Natalie Ratcliff's novels and forensic evidence showing the blood at the crime scene was planted. At the same time, the FBI uses Walt to track Avery's fugitive father Garth Montgomery, whose location Avery ultimately hands over to authorities. Garth is arrested in a dramatic cabin raid while Avery broadcasts her special on Victoria without disclosing that Victoria is still alive. The investigation ends with the murder case reopened and both Avery and Walt having helped achieve a measure of justice.

The core investigation that clears Victoria Ford's name.

Detectives find a knife with blood, a wine glass with lipstick, and urine in the toilet at Cameron Young's mansion, suggesting a woman was present.

Roman Manchester tells Victoria Ford that the physical evidence of her blood at the crime scene will be very difficult to combat in court.

Avery Mason takes over as lead anchor of American Events after the previous host dies and steadily grows the show's ratings and audience.

Avery attends a party hosted by HAP News executive Mosley Germaine and begins maneuvering to negotiate a higher contract.

Walt Jenkins lives in Jamaica struggling with alcohol addiction, finding a hidden plane ticket and reflecting on his traumatic past in New York.

Avery drives cross-country to New York, recalling the sailing accident in which her brother Christopher disappeared and was presumed dead.

Walt attends the annual Trauma Survivors' meeting in Manhattan and reunites with Meghan Cobb, his former girlfriend.

Avery meets Medical Examiner Dr. Livia Cutty in New York to discuss the new technique used to identify Victoria Ford's remains.

Walt reviews the Cameron Young case files in Shandaken and meets with retired police chief Dale Richards to revisit the original investigation.

Walt and Avery share dinner in Manhattan for the first time, opening up about their personal histories and past traumas.

Avery visits author Natalie Ratcliff, who agrees to draft a written timeline of her friendship with Victoria Ford for the investigation.

Natalie visits Avery's hotel room and admits that Victoria is alive in Greece, having escaped the United States using the Ratcliff cruise line.

Aaron Holland successfully boards the cruise ship The Emerald Lady in New Orleans alongside Meghan Cobb, using a fake passport.

Aaron Holland disembarks in Jamaica and is revealed to be Christopher Montgomery, Avery's brother who faked his own death years earlier.

Victoria secretly meets Natalie on the island of Santorini to collaborate on their 16th Peg Perugo novel, which Victoria has already sent to the publisher.

Before the investigation begins, the physical evidence collected at Cameron Young's crime scene and Victoria's tense meeting with her lawyer establish the weight of the case against her. Avery Mason's rise as a journalist and her cross-country drive to New York set the stage for the investigation, while Walt Jenkins languishes in Jamaica battling alcohol addiction and attending the annual Trauma Survivors' meeting. The two investigators approach the Cameron Young case from different angles, with Walt reviewing old files and Avery building personal connections to those who knew Victoria. A crucial meeting with Natalie Ratcliff and Natalie's eventual admission that Victoria is alive in Greece transforms the investigation's direction entirely. The story closes with Christopher Montgomery secretly boarding a cruise ship and being revealed as Avery's long-presumed-dead brother, while Victoria and Natalie continue their covert literary partnership on the island of Santorini.

The parallel lives and backstories that shape the investigation.

Victoria insists to her lawyer Roman Manchester that she was not present at Cameron Young's Catskill mansion the night he died.

Avery tells her agent that the Victoria Ford investigation justifies her demand for a salary of at least one million dollars a year.

Avery reflects that she legally changed her name from Claire Montgomery to Avery Mason after her father Garth's indictment for fraud.

Connie Clarkson reveals to Avery that she lost two million dollars investing with Garth Montgomery one year before his arrest.

James Oliver reveals to Walt that Avery Mason's real name is Claire Montgomery and her father is the fugitive fraudster Garth Montgomery.

Crime scene technician Ken Schuster shows Walt a USB drive containing a video that identifies Victoria Ford as Cameron Young's bondage partner.

Avery visits a man named André in Brooklyn and pays him to create a fake passport under the name Aaron Holland.

Walt secretly follows Avery to André's apartment in Brooklyn and then to a cemetery, reporting both locations to the FBI.

At the 9/11 memorial pool, Avery receives an envelope from André containing the completed passport and photos proving Walt has been following her.

Walt and Avery review Victoria and Cameron's bondage video and discover a hidden camera and a safe word that ends the session peacefully.

Photos from prosecutor Maggie Greenwald's seized files show Victoria had no wounds two days after Cameron's murder that could account for the blood at the scene.

Avery confronts Walt about the surveillance photos, and together they devise a plan to deliver Garth's location to the FBI.

Walt contacts his former girlfriend Meghan Cobb and asks her to accompany a mystery passenger on a cruise departing from New Orleans.

Avery and Walt travel to Jamaica and reunite with Christopher, and Walt tells Avery he wants to move to California to be near her.

Avery reads the latest Peg Perugo novel and discovers its twist: the killer planted their own blood to frame themselves, implying Victoria's guilt.

Victoria's firm denial of guilt to her lawyer and Avery's hidden identity as Claire Montgomery establish competing layers of deception from the story's opening. The FBI's plan to use Walt as a spy against Avery introduces a moral conflict that deepens when Walt follows Avery to a passport forger and a cemetery, secretly reporting her movements to his handlers. At the 9/11 memorial, Avery receives photos proving Walt has been surveilling her, triggering a confrontation that reshapes their alliance and sets the plan to trap Garth and extract Christopher into motion. Forensic revelations confirm Victoria's blood was planted from a stored tampon, while a review of the bondage video uncovers a hidden camera and a safe word that undermine the prosecution's entire theory. Walt overcomes his past by asking Meghan Cobb to assist with Christopher's escape, and both protagonists heal by reuniting with Christopher in Jamaica. The final revelation — that the newest Peg Perugo novel describes a killer who planted their own blood to mislead investigators — implies that Victoria was guilty all along.