The film has been described as having a hodge-podge of cobbled-together storylines[1][3] and as a backdoor pilot.[1][4] For the film, Carter won the Writers Guild of America Award in 2015 for Outstanding Script, in the "Original Long form" category.[5]
Plot
Set two years after the commencement of the American Civil War, it is loosely centered around events connected to Belle Gaitlin Barlow (Lauren Ambrose). Deliverance Creek, MO is where the union troop's pay will be delivered, so a group of union desserters go there to intercept it.
Belle lives in Deliverance Creek with her children, trying to maintain the farm as her husband Harlan left to fight in the war and is presumed dead. Belle is involved with Deputy Nate Cooper (Wes Ramsey).
Belle's neighbour (Barry Tubb), hits on her, but she rejects his advances. When he returns home, he complains about their run-in and his wife Cordelia (Katherine Willis) notices the slap mark on his face.
In Arkansas, Kessie (Yaani King), a slave, sneaks her family off the plantation to avoid being separated, as her husband Moses is to be sold at a slave auction. When the owner finds them missing he vows never to free Kessie. She makes an imprint of the safe key, forges her freedom papers and takes cash from the safe to follow her family.
Belle's sister Hattie (Caitlin Custer) talks about participating in the Underground Railroad. She goes to collect the first people to hide, Kessie's family, only to find there are more than there is space for.
Cordelia, who works at the bank, is unsympathetic to Belle's financial difficulties and sends a notice which is tacked to her door. When Belle discovers a few of her calves were wrongly branded by Jeb, she convinces him at gunpoint to return them.
Returning home from town, Belle detects that someone is on their farm, and soon discovers her brother Jasper (Christopher Backus) and other Union army deserters. Toby (Riley Smith), Caleb's father, is suffering from a gunshot wound, which Belle removes.
Hattie arrives at Belle's, hoping to hide Kessie's children overnight. Belle warns her how dangerous that could be with the men there. Hattie convinces the saloon owner to hide them.
The desserters burn their coats in the back. Belle hears them conspiring to rob the Union soldier payroll, soon to arrive at the local bank. Nate shows up at Belle's farmhouse and tries to get her to leave with the kids, but she refuses.
Belle realises they will soon search her premises so she sends off the desserters, and hides Toby and her kids. A posse comes by, as remnants of the Union soldiers' things were retrieved from the fire. During their search, Caleb is shot dead. After they bury him, Belle tells Toby he was his son.
Kessie arrives, only to find that Moses and the kids were separated and his fate is unknown. Hattie convinces Belle to take her in under the guise of a slave.
Belle contacts Jasper to help them steal the Union payroll, as she wants revenge against the Crawfords for Caleb's death. Visiting Nate's office, she deduces when the gold will arrive. Belle enlists Kessie's help, in exchange for her aide in reuniting her family.
Ben (Joel Johnstone) stands watch in the safe overnight, while four of the desserters are snuck into the funeral home next door to the bank, in pine boxes under the guise of a family that perished from smallpox. They break into the bank and crack the safe, but Ben is shot. The men hide the gold, planning to meet in a month to divy out the earnings, but Cyril (Christopher James Baker) plans to keep it for himself.
The next day, once the robbery is discovered, Ben is in critical condition, Cordelia is told she'll be held responsible for the value of all missing. Nate finds Belle's necklace at the scene of the crime, and the final scene is a wide shot of them meeting, where she realises she's missing the necklace.
