Episodes 01

When the body of Trent Latham washes up on the shores of Deadloch, Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins is thrust back into detective work after deliberately stepping back to forge a more quiet life with her highly-strung wife Cath. Her initial resistance turns into a strong motivation, but is soon impeded by the arrival of Eddie Radcliffe, a radical, unorthodox detective dispatched from Darwin. Her disorganised, lackadaisical approach to the investigation severely grates, both with Dulcie and the victim’s family and associates, but a strong conviction about the case that Dulcie rebuffs as nonsense, and an attempt by Eddie to order to wrap the case up quickly, turns out to potentially be plausible, especially when a notable detail about the victim’s body comes into play.

Episodes 02

With both Latham brothers now dead, both their bodies without tongues, Dulcie is convinced that there is a link between them, and also the circumstances surrounding the death of the town’s previous mayor, Rod Dixon, several years ago, who also washed up on the town’s shores. However, Eddie is vocally displeased about following Dulcie’s theory, and instead interrogates Phil McGangus, a surly local entrepreneur, and drags along people-pleasing constable Abby on a stakeout. Dulcie takes matters into her own hands and oversees a dramatically-flawed exhumation of the mayor’s body, while Eddie’s behaviour grows more erratic with her next theory about the possible return of a long-disappeared town heavyweight being behind the Lathams’ demise… with Dulcie’s night out and Eddie’s first night temporarily setting up home in his former hideaway both ending in high drama.

Episodes 03

The body of Sam O’Dwyer – missing for five years – appears on the lake shoreline, with the revelation that O’Dwyer’s – and the other victims’ – tongue was excised prior to death by strangulation throwing Dulcie, who aims to find a criminal profiler, while her frustration grows with Eddie’s refusal to acknowledge her serial killer theory. The discovery of blood on the remnants of O’Dwyer’s boat sends Eddie’s intense obsession with Phil McGangus – and her apparent desperation to ensure the case is closed as soon as possible – into overdrive, ordering mass DNA testing of all male townsfolk. Abby’s determination to delve further into the links between all four victims leads to a revelation that completely alters the direction of the case.

Episodes 04

With Eddie now open to cooperation with Dulcie, and entertaining the serial killer theory, the two begin looking into the family and associates of Rod Dixon, the first victim. Their investigations are upended by the news Sam O’Dwyer was not killed in the same fashion as the other three men, Cath’s clinginess and annoyance at Dulcie’s reluctance to impart case details that goes beyond police procedure, the relentless probing of a local journalist, the mayor panicking her authority and the respect for her position is being undermined, Abby’s disquiet at having to keep information that could prove vital to the case secret, and a discovery that results in the case being reset, its increasingly scattergun focus disturbing Eddie, with dangerous consequences.

Episodes 05

The sight of Jimmy Cook’s body in a crucifixion-like state on the beach warps the investigation, and puts Dulcie and Eddie firmly in the Commissioner’s firing line – ordering them to find a suspect by nightfall, lest they be replaced as the investigating officers. Their sights become set on Mike – the last person to see Jimmy alive, and former officer within Deadloch Police at the time of the botched investigation into Rod Dixon’s death – through an interrogation of whom they uncover a secret the town has made him hide for decades, and also the clues to what could be their next suspect, to Dulcie’s dismay at even contemplating such a person, as it places her already fraying relationship with an increasingly clingy Cath under strain. Abby’s relationship with James also becomes fraught when his hubris begins to harm the investigation, and forces her to perform forensic testing herself.

Episodes 06

Dulcie becomes torn between her job and her life outside of it, with friend Skye O’Dwyer now firmly the prime suspect. Abby’s intuition – despite some gaslighting from fiancé James – helps lead the team to realise any vessel that may have been used to kill Jimmy and then set up his body on the beach could not have been moored on Deadloch’s shoreline, with the private Carruthers Island the likely location… with Dulcie’s greatest fears confirmed after finding evidence implicating Skye in Jimmy’s death – on top of a lack of an alibi for the night of her father’s death. Dulcie’s conflicts step up a notch when she learns those closest to her have been secluding vital information, and the investigation becomes hugely more complicated when a protest at a Feastival event surfaces more than just simmering town tensions. Meanwhile, Eddie is finally convinced to let her guard down and not let her past haunt her forever, Marina rebuffs Margareta’s offer of a scholarship, and Tom betrays a friendship in order to win favour with the homophobic football team.

Episodes 07

With six more victims recovered from the lake, Dulcie and Eddie are initially puzzled by the lack of a link between these latest victims and the previous, until Abby leads them to believe the killings are motivated by all the victims’ past record of violence against women, and questioning dutifully begins on the O’Dwyers, their friends and associates. Their queries uncover a family secret hidden for years, but don’t believe they are implicated, bailing them shortly before a car almost kills a group of protesting men, led by Phil McGangus, who then takes charge in ordering an evacuation of all remaining men in Deadloch. Commissioner Hastings, irate at the decision to let the clear suspect in his eyes go – Skye O’Dwyer – takes charge of the investigation, orders the arrest of the questioned women, and presents evidence ostensibly proving they are behind the killings. However, new forensics convinces Dulcie and Eddie that the killer is not a woman – and there’s a fox amongst the chickens on the bus full of men speeding out of town…

Episodes 08

Dulcie and Eddie are shut out of the case, but together with Abby and Sven secretly continue their investigations outside of Hastings’ purview. A naked, bloody, and tongue-less Phil McGangus’ arrival back in Deadloch sparks Hastings to concoct a theory that Skye is currently in charge of the bus full of men, and has kidnapped them, taking them to the mainland. Dulcie and Eddie’s own work results in the bus being found – crashed over a cliff; evidence, though, proves it was empty at the time, and that one of the men aboard instead hijacked the bus, and has taken the men somewhere secluded, sending the team up into the mountains. There, Eddie is informed something about her past that reshapes her entire outlook on life, while back in Deadloch, the women, locked up all day, receive some home truths about each other. Meanwhile, Miranda and Tammy learn Margaret has not been entirely truthful about who in the family was to blame for the refusal to return Carruthers Island to their Aboriginal tribe.