The third season of Pretty Little Liars, based on the books of the same name by Sara Shepard, premiered on June 5, 2012, on ABC Family and concluded on March 19, 2013.

[2] The third season takes place five months following the discovery that Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) was the elusive "A" that had been creatively and relentlessly tormenting the four main characters, Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) for the past year.

The first half of the season addresses the issue of whether or not Garrett Reynolds (Yani Gellman) actually killed or was involved in the murder of the girls' former friend and queen bee, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) and who killed Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson) in the season two finale, while the second half deals with the reveal that Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) is a member of the A-Team.

While dealing with Maya's death Emily finds comfort with Paige McCullers (Lindsey Shaw) and the two enter a relationship.

The girls see the arrival of CeCe Drake (Vanessa Ray) to Rosewood, a sister like figure to Alison.

Spencer is released from Radley and comes home, but is unbeknownst to the girls, working with Mona/"A" to set up a party so that Red Coat can meet them all.

Spencer and Toby then begin working on the inside to discover Red Coat's identity at the party.

Red Coat flies in on a plane and Spencer and Toby go into the woods to watch her, while the girls corner Mona, as someone locks them inside the Lodge and sets it on fire.

Hanna, unconscious, wakes up briefly, as she is pulled out of the Lodge by Red Coat, whom she sees as Alison DiLaurentis.

Spencer confronts Melissa and she reveals that she was the Black Swan and that she lost the baby the day after she found Ian's body.

Aria sees Lucas pounding on the door to get into a photography studio and the girls wonder if perhaps he took the photos at the graveyard.

When Hanna starts volunteering to help Ashley, she finds a piece of Emily clothes that she was wearing "that night" Spencer spies on Garrett at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Wren tells Hanna that Mona might be moved to a facility in Saratoga for added security because the hospital thinks she's been passing her meds to a visitor.

Once they try to get into the party, Aria and Spencer see that they have to get stamped with the same black eye tattoo that Holden and Maya had on their wrists.

Ella begins dating Zack, the owner of the Rear Window Brew where Emily works.

While searching the cabin, Hanna finds a hidden door and inside, she determines that Maya must have been staying in the secret room.

"A" sends a text to the Liars, telling them to meet at Ali's grave at the Rosewood Cemetery at 10pm with Maya's bag, but without Emily.

Emily escapes and reaches the top of the lighthouse where she fights Lyndon and ultimately fatally stabs him in self-defense.

The Liars worry that people will think they were involved, including Mona, who instantly assures them she believes them, and wants to earn back their trust.

On the way to a swim team party, Emily and Paige chase after a hooded figure after their car tires are slashed.

Mona follows Byron late at night at Hollis and makes a mysterious phone call.

Later, Emily sees a picture of Wilden at the police station indicating that he was also in Cape May that summer with Ali and CeCe.

The private investigator Spencer hired to follow Toby tells her that he traced the "A" key to a single unit, but it turns out to be a dead end.

Spencer rushes in shortly afterward and spills the beans to Jason about Ali being pregnant with Detective Wilden's child at the time of her murder.

Hanna also convinces Ashley to talk to Ted about hiring Jamie for the church restoration project.

Hanna comes clean to Ashley about knowing CeCe and that she and her friends found out about an illicit relationship between Ali and Wilden.

Spencer receives a bouquet of flowers and a card that reads: Someone close to you will pay for your loose lips -A.

Emily is surprised when Shana invites her to coffee, only to introduce her to Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin.

Mona pays Spencer a visit in Radley and offers her a spot on the "A" Team for the second time.

During a group therapy session at Radley with Dr. Sullivan and other patients, Spencer confides that her friends can no longer count on her.