Three years after millions of people--some 2% of the world's population--vanished into thin air, residents of Mapleton, NY weigh the pros and cons of a 'Heroes Day' tribute to the local 'Departed.' Attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy in his strained community, police chief Kevin Garvey faces additional challenges at home.
In the wake of a series of disturbing encounters, Kevin pays a visit to a therapist. Tom finds himself in a precarious situation with Christine, a favorite of Wayne's. A frustrated Meg is asked to part with pieces of her past. Jill and Aimee tail Nora Durst, who became a local celebrity when her entire family disappeared in the Departure.
In the face of dwindling church attendance and threats on his life, the Rev. Matt Jamison continues to preach his gospel: that many who disappeared in the Departure were sinners and not saints. Matt's campaign is detoured when he learns he may lose the church to foreclosure, forcing him to launch a desperate, last-minute plan to come up with the cash to keep it.
A holiday display goes wanting, sending Kevin scurrying to find out who is responsible. Tom and Christine run into trouble at a hospital and on the road. Kevin retrieves a surprise detainee from a neighboring police station, and receives some unexpected visitors at home. The Guilty Remnant puts their stamp on the holiday season.
Laurie's resolve is put to the test in the wake of a brutal hate crime. After his latest initiatives to maintain peace in Mapleton fall short, Kevin turns down an outside offer to rid the town of its problems. Matt brings his pulpit to the street. Meg takes on a new role.
Nora takes care of some unfinished business in Mapleton before heading to New York for the Second Annual DROP conference (Departure Related Occupations and Practices). Agitated that her ID has been pinched, Nora, wearing a 'Guest' badge, scours the convention for her imposter, and ends up getting detoured by an amorous salesman, a best-selling author, and a rogue attendee.
After learning his father has escaped the psychiatric hospital, Kevin orders an APB to track him down. Jill attempts to break an endurance record. Holed up in Indiana, a disillusioned Tom makes an unsettling discovery.
Kevin fears he's losing touch with reality after finding himself, inexplicably, in a difficult situation involving Patti Levin, a leader of the Guilty Remnant. Meg loses control during another encounter with Matt; Jill confronts Aimee about her relationship with Kevin; Nora stands up to Laurie, and finds her privacy invaded.
Kevin tries to suppress his bad habits while tracking down a marauding deer in Mapleton. Laurie receives some not-unexpected news amidst a rising sense of foreboding. Tom connects with his past, against his better judgment. Nora has a job interview; Kevin Senior receives an honor.
An unexpected ally helps Kevin get out of a jam near the town of Cairo. Meanwhile, an elaborate Memorial Day initiative by the Guilty Remnant plunges the town of Mapleton into chaos. Holy Wayne grants a final wish; Tom copes with his new reality; Nora makes a life-changing decision.
Jarden, Texas was renamed 'Miracle' after it was discovered no one departed. Among the local families is the Murphys: the father, John, the mother, Erika, and their twins, Evie and Michael. Meanwhile, Kevin Garvey, Nora Durst and Jill Garvey show up in Miracle to start over, but Kevin cannot seem to escape his past.
Kevin, Nora, and Jill try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the Mapleton riots but problems from the past keep resurfacing. The new Garvey clan gets a fresh start in the safety of Miracle. Nora makes an impulsive choice, while Kevin gets entangled in the Murphy family's problems.
Laurie and Tom Garvey's work to rescue lost souls takes a toll on theirs. Laurie seeks to spread the word about the Guilty Remnant's dangers, while Tom's infiltration of the cult uncovers a whole new nest of problems.
In the midst of an earthquake, Nora awakens to find Kevin missing and her hopes of safety in their new town dashed. The Murphys are left reeling after Evie's disappearance. Kevin returns home but without his memory of the night before or his cell phone, which would link him to the missing girls. Meanwhile, an old enemy makes her return in an unexpected way.
Rev. Matt Jamison takes his vegetative wife Mary outside of Miracle to seek answers about her condition. But their lives take a dangerous detour when Matt is barred from returning to town. Matt races to get Mary back into Miracle while struggling to keep her safe from desperate tourists who are squatting just outside Miracle's gates.
Some unexpected visitors get under Nora's skin, and she becomes preoccupied with a burning question about herself. Kevin's predicament becomes impossible to ignore. Erika finds an unlikely ally and reveals some haunting secrets.
Nora gives Kevin and Jill news they weren't expecting. Laurie makes a rash decision that affects the Garveys. Kevin deals with the fallout of Nora's news, and explores his options re: tackling his Patti problem head-on.
In the wake of Kevin's desperate decision to vanquish Patti, questions and answers emerge as the world adjusts to the repercussions of what comes next.
A personal loss and subsequent pilgrimage to Miracle offer clues on why Meg embarked on her path as a Remnant crusader. After a fallout with Laurie, Tom seeks to reunite with Meg.
Kevin comes clean to a skeptical John about his connection to Evie's disappearance, as Miracle faces an unexpected threat on the fourth anniversary of The Departure.
Three years after Miracle, Texas was overrun by the Guilty Remnant, Kevin Garvey has returned to his role as chief of police. Although he seems to have moved past the incredible events surrounding his "resurrection," the Seventh Anniversary of the Sudden Departure is just two weeks away and many believe another apocalyptic event may come with it.
In her official capacity as fraud investigator for the Department of Sudden Departure (D.S.D.), Nora travels to St. Louis to investigate a possible scam that involves convincing the family members of The Departed there’s a way to see their loved ones again.
With the clock ticking towards the anniversary of the Departure and emboldened by a vision that is either divine prophecy or utter insanity, Kevin Garvey Sr. wanders the Australian Outback in an effort to save the world from apocalypse.
Kevin and Nora travel to Australia, where she continues to track down the masterminds of an elaborate con, while he catches a glimpse of an unexpected face from the past, forcing him to confront the traumatic events of three years earlier.
Convinced it is Kevin’s destiny to be in Miracle for the coming seventh anniversary of the Departure, Matt Jamison impulsively heads to Australia in an effort to bring Kevin home. Unfortunately, God gets in the way.
Laurie Garvey, a former therapist, must become one again as she heads to Australia to help Nora and Kevin along their paths.
On a mission of mercy, Kevin assumes an alternate identity.
Convinced that she'll be reunited with her children, Nora decides to use the machine - at what cost?
