In 1979, Lou Solverson is a state trooper with the Minnesota State Police and based out of Luverne, Minnesota. He often works alongside his father-in-law, Rock County Sheriff Hank Larsson. One night, the two are assigned to investigate a triple murder at the Waffle Hut on the outskirts of Luverne. He notes the strangeness of the shooter (Rye Gerhardt -- youngest son of the Gerhardt crime family) apparently fleeing the scene in a different vehicle after parking his own car outside the diner, with another car belonging to a Judge based out of Fargo, North Dakota. Unbeknownst to Lou and Hank, Rye was hit by beautician Peggy Blumquist's car after he had run into the road after seeing a UFO. Peggy, not knowing what to do, returns home with Rye stuck through her windshield, where he is later killed by her husband, local butcher Ed Blumquist, in self-defense. At home, Lou is dealing with the worsening cancer of his wife Betsy while also raising their 6-year-old daughter, Molly.
