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Here’s an Extended Plot Summary for the New True Detective Season

2 minute read
By Nolan Feeney

Details about the new season of HBO’s True Detective have been trickling in ever so slowly, with one cryptic teaser after another giving the show a reputation for secrecy. Now with the release of a more detailed plot summary and some episode titles, fans have a slightly better idea of what to expect when the show returns for an eight-episode season on June 21. We already know that the central mystery concerns a California city manager who’s brutally murdered in what looks like an Occult ritual during negotiations for a game-changing transportation deal. But here’s more info on the living characters:

Colin Farrell (Golden Globe winner for In Bruges) plays Ray Velcoro, a troubled detective whose allegiances are torn between his masters in a corrupt police department and the mobster who owns him. Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers) portrays Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his empire when his move into legitimate enterprise is upended by the murder of a business partner. Rachel McAdams (Midnight in Paris) plays Ani Bezzerides, a sheriff’s detective whose uncompromising ethics put her at odds with others and the system she serves. Taylor Kitsch (HBO’s The Normal Heart) portrays Paul Woodrugh, a war veteran and a highway patrol motorcycle officer, running from a difficult past and the sudden glare of a scandal that never happened.

If that doesn’t sound dark, just look at the episode titles — the season opener is called “The Western Book of the Dead” and the second is “Night Finds You.”

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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com