But it isn't the accent that makes Mare compelling; it is her compartmentalization. Mare is a woman holding herself together with fraying tape. She is raising her grandson, Drew, while navigating a fraught relationship with her recovering addict son, Kevin (who appears only in haunting flashbacks), and living under the roof of her pushy but loving mother, Helen (a brilliant Jean Smart). Mare refuses to process her grief. Instead, she channels it into her work, solving other people’s problems while her own house—literally and metaphorically—is falling apart.

As Mare digs into the case, she uncovers a tangled web of secrets, lies, and betrayals involving Erin’s volatile ex-boyfriend, her abusive father, a group of friends, and even members of a local Catholic parish. Complicating matters is a rival detective from a neighboring county, Colin Zabel (Evan Peters), who is brought in to assist.