Sarah Linden is a detective in the Seattle Police Department, preparing to relocate to Sonoma, California, with her fiance, Rick Felder, and her teenaged son, Jack.
[1] However, her plans are put on hold when Rosie Larsen, a local high school student, disappears while her family is out of town on a camping trip.
While the two of them continue to investigate the Indian casino and the shady chief, Linden believes she is being stalked by an unknown assailant who leaves drawings on her refrigerator.
The two of them, determined they are getting closer to the truth, return to the casino—Holder causes a distraction while Linden sneaks up to the 10th floor, where Rosie used to take smoke breaks when she worked there.
Linden denies everything but the psychiatrist doesn't buy it, noting her past stint at a hospital in which she neglected herself and her son because she believed a previous case had actually not been closed despite an arrest.
After obtaining the missing security camera footage from the casino, Linden sees Jamie Wright, who was present at a behind-the-scenes meeting between Ames and the Chief, in the elevator.
Following Jaime's death and the arrest of Terry Marek (who was also revealed to be an accomplice), the Rosie Larsen case is brought to a definite close.
Holder and new partner Detective Carl Reddick arrive at an abandoned factory, where a teenage Ashley Kwon's dead body is found wrapped in a biohazard bag.
[4] Holder and Reddick become part of a task force whereby they learn more about the recent discovery: 17 bodies were found encased in biohazard bags, throats slashed or heads severed, all female teenagers.
Linden shows her the drawing of a grove of trees drawn by Seward's son, Adrian, and mentions a possible connection with a recent murder.
After Rosie goes missing during the Larsen family's camping trip, Stan learns from her best friend, Sterling Fitch, that she spent the weekend with her ex-boyfriend Jasper Ames.
During his return trip to town, he stumbles across a police blockade and learns that Detective Sarah Linden retrieves Rosie's body from the trunk of a sunken car.
[6] Around this time, Linden and her partner, Stephen Holder, uncover details about Stan's past, mostly concerning his prior gambling habits and his ties to the Polish mob.
She eventually met and married Stan Larsen, even after knowing of his alcohol and gambling problems and his work as an enforcer in the Polish mob.
During Rosie's high school years, the girl began to travel outside of town and the state, taking a liking to the Grand Canyon.
Upon learning that Rosie's body was found in the stolen campaign car of Seattle mayoral candidate Darren Richmond, Belko suggests arranging a hit on the politician.
Upstairs, she spots a television report that shows released photographs of the crime scene where Rosie was found and, horrified, stops to watch it.
When Rosie is spotted on a casino ATM video the night she disappeared, the detectives learn that she has been depositing money into a bank account.
The customer turns out to be city councilman Darren Richmond, who is currently running for mayor and whose campaign car was submerged with Rosie in the trunk.
However, Rosie Larsen is found dead in the trunk of a stolen campaign car, and her teacher, Bennet Ahmed—member of Darren's outreach program—is suspected of her murder.
The multiple connections to the crime cause Darren's poll numbers to slide, and allows Mayor Adams to accuse him of coddling criminals during a televised debate.
Smarting from this revelation, Gwen meets with Detective Sarah Linden and changes her story, telling her that Darren had disappeared for hours on the night Rosie was last seen.
While Darren recovers from his injuries, Gwen tells Linden that he smelled of salt water when he returned on the night of the murder, indicating that he had been kayaking.
Jamie also tells Gwen to keep quiet after a staff researcher stumbles upon video footage of the councilman shaking hands with Rosie at a campaign event.
Upon catching Rosie listening in on a conversation between him and Michael Ames about conspiring against the current governor, he knocks her out and locks her in the trunk of his car.
Denny's sensitive character served to reflect the families painful struggle to maintain normalcy in the face of the devastating loss of their sister.
She tells the school principal that Rosie was with her the entire weekend, but her nose begins to bleed, which leads teacher Bennet Ahmed to suspect that she was lying.
After seeing the police at the school looking for Rosie or anyone who may know her, Sterling leaves, riding her bicycle to a downtown gathering where she finds Kris Echols.
Rosie has disappeared and is believed to be with Jasper, since, as Kris put it, he bought the drug Ecstasy and went to his family's island weekend home, "looking to 'bone' (have sex)."
On the way home, Stan is stopped by a police barricade where Rosie has been found dead in the trunk of a submerged car, which was believed stolen from Councilman Darren Richmond's mayoral campaign staff.