Twin Peaks

The series is set in 1989, with each episode — barring occasional exceptions — representing a single day in the chronology.

On the morning of February 24th, in the town of Twin Peaks, Washington state, lumberjack Pete Martell discovers a naked corpse tightly wrapped in a sheet of clear plastic on the bank of a river. Following the arrival of Sheriff Harry S. Truman, his deputies, and Dr. Will Hayward on the scene, the body is discovered to be that of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, the most popular girl at the local high school. The news spreads among the town's residents, particularly Laura's family and friends. Meanwhile, just across the state line, a second girl, Ronette Pulaski, is found walking along the railroad tracks in a fugue state. Since Ronette was discovered across the state line, FBI Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate. Cooper's initial examination of Laura's body reveals a tiny typed letter 'R' inserted under her fingernail. He recognizes this as the "calling card" of a killer who took the life of Teresa Banks a year earlier in a town located "in the southwest corner of the state" (revealed in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me to be Deer Meadow).

Cooper quickly establishes that Laura's character and relationships are not as they first appear, and that she's far from the wholesome homecoming queen that those closest to her believed her to be. It is revealed that Laura was two-timing her boyfriend Bobby Briggs with sullen biker James Hurley, a fact known to Laura's best friend Donna Hayward. Cooper also finds traces of **** in Laura's diary, indicating a drug habit she shared with Bobby. Meanwhile, Donna and James begin an investigation of their own into Laura's death, and find themselves embarking on a romantic relationship with each other.

Laura's cousin Maddy Ferguson arrives to stay with Laura's parents prior to the funeral. Maddy, who resembles Laura closely, befriends Donna and James and helps them in their efforts to find the killer — even impersonating Laura at one point to fool Laura's psychologist, Dr. Lawrence Jacoby.

During his investigation, Cooper stays at the Great Northern Hotel owned by the Horne family. The Hornes' sultry daughter Audrey develops a crush on Cooper that initially appears to be mutual. However, Cooper later rebuffs her advances, on the grounds that she is a high schooler, and that she is involved in the case he is working on. With Audrey's help, Cooper traces Laura's **** usage to a brothel called One-Eyed Jack's, which Audrey later infiltrates on Cooper's behalf. It is revealed that Laura had also been working as a prostitute there.