Plot

The body of a woman who had been missing for 3 years is found. Her husband, acquitted for lack of evidence but now seen as guilty, asks Alex for help. As she investigates for her podcast, a colleague investigates fishy river shipping.

The latest edition of Alex McPherson's true-crime podcast finds her investigating a three-year-old murder for which the body has only recently been discovered. In reviewing the case for her podcast, Alex discovers the shocking truth about the killer and helps to exonerate two men wrongly accused of the crime.—J48

Still unpacked and living in a hotel, former business consultant and host of the podcast, Recovered, Alex McPherson has tentatively and only temporarily accepted the position of Managing Editor at the Harrington Chronicle newspaper taking over from her Uncle Miles Lewiston, leaving Editor-in-Chief Drew Goddard needing to adjust to Alex as his new boss. The temporary nature is so that she can truly consider what she sees as her future. One of her first orders of business with the newspaper is to decide whether to repair the aging printing press, or outsource the printing of the newspaper, the former which would mean needing to let go of Chuck Matthews, one of the newspaper's most dedicated and loyal employees. One thing Alex becomes certain of is that there will be another season of the podcast when she is approached by Mike Thurman of nearby Wallace Falls to have said next season be on Tara Thurman, his deceased wife whose body was just found buried in the woods. Mike was charged three years ago of her murder, and although he was ultimately acquitted on insufficient evidence, he has been persecuted by the public as her murderer based on the evidence that was presented. A lawyer often out of town on business, Tara accused Mike of having an affair with one of his coworkers, Betsy Gray, Tara having sent both Mike and Tara threatening texts. One of the people who believes this story is Tara's twin brother, Tim Reynolds, who has made it his mission to find evidence convicting Mike. One piece that the defense team presented is a just as plausible counter-story of a convicted carjacker named Clayton Burrell having committed the murder. But a story on which Drew is currently working seems to have ties to what's going on, namely the resurrection of a the Wallace Falls Shipping Company, the river cargo ship company which seems to be operated by people who have no experience in river shipping. If Alex and Drew are able to discover the truth behind Tara's murder, they will have to find the missing piece, namely Tara's cell phone which has never been recovered, and which may confirm the timelines and whether certain people could have committed the murder.—Huggo