Recaps:

The Beginnings (Chapters 0-10):

Carol Mathison's body was found in the park, the morning of July 5, after a fight with her fiance Jeff Howard the night before. Immediately, her friend and detective Shane Marcette began to suspect Jeff, to the point of hauling him in for intense interrogation, but he was released due to lack of evidence.

Shane, distraught over Carol's death as well as his inability to pin Jeff to the crime, got drunk and cried on his best friend Brett's shoulder. He also made quite a public spectacle of himself, blaming himself and apologizing to the bar patrons and to Carol for letting them down.

Church secretary Marnie Blake became Jeff's shoulder in this difficult time, all while balancing her own troubled marriage to alcoholic Evan, who began seeing his late first wife Francine everywhere. Evan tried to talk to Marnie about it, telling her he feared he was losing his mind, but she wrote it off as merely stress.

Shock resounded through quiet Haven Park as the community reacted to the murder. Terri Englund sought solace in her boyfriend Lucas Brady, rather than her husband Lance. She and Lance fought bitterly over her affair, as well as her drug addiction. Terri finally suggested, as a last ditch effort, having her brother, pastor Brett Woodward, counsel them. Lance agreed reluctantly, only after Terri threatened to walk out if he didn't comply.

Lance paid a visit to Lucas, which quickly turned physical when Lucas laughed off Lance's insistence that he leave Terri alone. Lucas also insinuated that he knew that Lance physically abused Terri, an allegation that shook him to the core because nothing of the sort had happened.

Whilst discussing the murder, Julia Woodward (wife of Brett) raised suspicion with her adamant defense of Jeff, but also wrote that off as concern for him at this difficult time. However, on the morning of Carol's funeral, she paid him a visit, the nature of which is still unknown to the audience.

Later that morning, Julia's suspicious absence raised eyebrows, and when she did come in, she only sparked even more interest, especially since she arrived at the church within mere minutes of Jeff. As soon as Jeff arrived, Shane sprung at him, hurling hateful allegations and a confrontation ensued. Jeff left voluntarily, while Shane was fiercely berated by both Stanley Rogers, Carol's father, and Mayor Clayton Pierce for his actions.

Carol's funeral featured many heartfelt tributes from the community, the most stirring coming from her parents. Stanley shocked everyone when he directly referenced the murder, but his wife Mona quickly brought the focus back to Carol, playing the song Love Me Do in honor of both Carol and her late husband David.

At the wake, Terri avoided everyone and remembered the good times she had with Carol. Lance attempted to bring her out, telling her that people were talking, and she exploded, saying that she didn't care if they talked and wasn't sure why he would. She stalked out angry and he was right behind her. In the parking lot, things only became even more intense when Lucas arrived out of nowhere and once again, he and Lance battled it out over Terri. This time, the stakes were raised when Lucas pulled a switchblade on Lance and Terri left with him, despite Lance telling her that if she did, she was not to come back home.

Shane confided his regret for the altercation with Jeff to Brett, who told him precisely what he did not want to hear - that he was far too close to Carol to be involved in this. It was then that Shane's true motive for being so emotionally invested in this case was revealed - his long standing feelings for Carol, which largely went unrequited. Later, Lance approached Shane and told him about the knife incident with Lucas.

Jeff, distraught over the past few days and unable to hold it together any longer, bemoaned the road that brought him here and moved out of Carol's house, unable to bear the memories that being there provided. He also found new resolve in his war with Shane, vowing to bring him down for the dirty tactics he was using.

A few days later, Terri and a reluctant Lance met for counseling in Brett's office, a session that quickly ended in disaster. Lance, gunning for revenge, almost spilled the beans to Brett about Terri's affair and drug use, but held back at the last minute, only storming out instead. This left Terri inconsolable, as she realized how profoundly he really did love her.

Later, when Brett told Julia about the whole thing, she finally let some of her frustration with the situation come out, telling Brett that there was little he could do to help Terri and Lance right now and that they needed to figure it all out for themselves. Brett told her that he felt he was all Terri really had left in this world, and he couldn't bear the idea of letting her down.

Jeff, desperate and out of options, paid Marnie a visit at the church and asked for a loan, which she had to regretfully decline. She explained that Evan would not allow her to do such a thing, then suggested he talk to Brett instead. Immediately, Jeff became uncomfortable, and only grew more so when Julia and Brett emerged from the office. After a few agonizing minutes, Jeff made the hastiest escape possible, leaving Brett to ask Julia if she knew what his strange behavior was about.

Shane was summoned into police chief Elton Frazier's office, where Mayor Pierce was also waiting. Frazier tore fiercely into Shane for both his actions at the bar and at the funeral, and revealed his office had gotten a call from a lawyer hired by Jeff Howard. Enraged, Shane insisted that he had to be onto something for Jeff to get this nervous, but nonetheless, Frazier and Mayor Pierce decided it was best to pull him off the case, citing lack of progress and far too personal ties to the victim.