Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Minnesota homemaker Dorothy “Dot” Lyon is arrested after a school-board meeting erupts into a fight, bringing her fingerprints to the attention of her abusive former husband, North Dakota sheriff Roy Tillman. Roy sends two kidnappers, including the hired killer Ole Munch, to bring Dot back, but she fights them, escapes and hides how much danger she is in from her devoted husband Wayne and daughter Scotty. Deputy Indira Olmstead and wounded officer Witt Farr investigate the kidnapping, while Wayne’s wealthy mother, Lorraine, tries to control the situation through her money and influence. Dot’s attempts to protect her family keep pulling her across the state line and into Roy’s reach.
When Lorraine has Dot committed to a psychiatric ward, Dot escapes and finally tells Indira the truth: Roy took her in as a teenager, married her when she was seventeen and abused her. Dot leaves Scotty with Indira and returns to confront the past. Roy recaptures Dot and imprisons her at his ranch, but his power collapses when the FBI raids the property. Dot shoots him in the stomach; Witt pursues him through an escape tunnel and is stabbed to death, while Roy’s son Gator helps the FBI arrest his father. Roy goes to prison, and Lorraine funds the other inmates’ debt relief, promising him fear and humiliation. Back home with Wayne and Scotty, Dot faces Munch, who still demands payment for his partner’s death. She offers him food and forgiveness instead, and he accepts a biscuit at their table.