Long-held racial and economic divisions percolate in Atlanta; when African American children begin disappearing and showing up dead, the city is on the verge of an unprecedented crisis; outraged members of the black community call for swift action.

As distrust in the police and city officials deepens, citizens take matters into their own hands; the FBI is called upon to step in; conspiracy theories take root; talent scout Wayne Williams may have been recruiting some of the victims.

With the city's reputation on the line, law enforcement faces immense pressure to make an arrest; an FBI stakeout of the city's bridges leads investigators to Wayne Williams, who becomes the main suspect in the killings and is promptly arrested.

In the mid-1980s, Wayne Williams' appeals attorney receives shocking new evidence connecting members of the Klan to the murders; an undercover informant and several investigators take the stand as a judge evaluates Williams' plea for a retrial.