An 8-year-old boy wakes up in a Chinese rice paddy and returned home to Arcadia, Missouri by a federal agent -- who soon realizes that young Jacob is the same boy who drowned and left his parents childless 32 years ago.

The Langstons are forced to confront their past when Bellamy pushes to have Jacob's tomb exhumed.

As Henry struggles to accept Jacob for who he is, Maggie and Bellamy consider whether the local river may be the common link between those who have returned. Ray continues to doubt his father and what he is up to.

Bellamy forms an alliance with Sheriff Fred when he suspects Caleb of bank robbery and murder. Pastor Tom's life is disrupted by the return of Rachael, his old flame, 12 years after her suicide.

Sheriff Fred and Bellamy attempt to find Caleb's hidden money in order to prevent the FBI from descending upon the town and learning its secret, putting pressure on his daughter Elaine for help. Rachael visits Maggie for a medical check-up.

Maggie turns to a former professor for answers to what is happening in Arcadia, though Bellamy worries if a government employee can be trusted with the secret. As the Sheriff considers Caleb's mysterious disappearance, Rachael's secret gets out.

The search for Rachael leads Tom, Bellamy, and Sheriff Fred to a desperate stand-off with her captor. Maggie and Dr. Ward's medical research into the returned is interrupted by a major event throughout the town.

Following a confrontation with his wife, Fred takes matters into his own hands when a military team rolls into town to provide relief. Bellamy grows suspicious when the returned are all asked to gather at the high school gym.