The show starts off with young Jacob Langston, who appears out of nowhere in a paddy field in China. 8 year old Jacob is taken to the American consulate and with their help flown to the US where he is met at the airport by FBI’s Immigration and Customs Agent J. Martin “Marty” Bellamy. He takes the boy to Arcadia as that’s where the boy gives his hometown and he tracks the boy’s parents as Henry & Lucille Langston and takes him home. When Marty meets Henry he tells him that he has his son Jacob to which Henry replies angrily that Jacob did 32 years ago! Yet here he is, wearing the same outfit as on the day of his burial. Jacob is the same boy and his mother is overjoyed while his father is skeptical and unsure as to what to do. The boy is tested by Dr. Maggie Langston, his cousin who was just a baby when he died and the town’s sheriff Fred Langston (Maggie’s dad and Henry’s younger brother) interrogates the boy & agent Bellamy. The boy is undoubtedly Jacob returned from his death 32 years ago. But is it god or something else that has returned him back to life. All Jacob remembers is falling into a river, trying to help his aunt (Maggie’s mother & Fred’s wife) who also drowned, when he drowned and then waking up in the paddy field in China.

Pastor Tom Hale is called to speak to the boy, not just as the town’s pastor but also as Jacob’s childhood friend. Tom is initially skeptical, unsure if this is a miracle from god or not but he soon befriends the boy and they play video games together, just like they did when they were both 8. Although he seems normal, they soon learn that Jacob’s bodily remains and clothes are still in his coffin when they dig it up. So where did this version of Jacob come from? And Jacob isn’t the only dead Arcadia resident to come back – Caleb Richards, a small time crook (unknown to most) and handyman returns to Arcadia; he had died of a heart attack after robbing a bank (no one but his expartner knows that Caleb was involved) over a decade ago and goes back to his son Ray & daughter Elaine (Maggie’s best friend). And there seems to be a connection between him & Jacob.  Caleb however goes back to his old ways, kills his ex partner in crime when he doesn’t fine the money and then uses his daughter’s laptop to find security codes and rob the bank where she works at. Caleb is caught when Jacob senses his presence and tells Maggie who alerts her father.

The 3rd returned person is Rachel (Kathleen Munroe) who killed herself by crashing her car purposefully and drowning. She was Tom’s fiance and pregnant at the time and in a spell of depression the whole thought of raising a kid and marriage got to her. She comes back and Tom finds her, arranging for her to stay in a motel and keeping the information from his wife. What’s more, she is still pregnant!! Meanwhile the town is going nuts about the returned 3with a lot of the religious folks thinking that the devil is behind this resurrection and don’t call Jacob, Caleb & Rachel human. Caleb disappears in his cell not before telling the sheriff that he knows about Fred’s wife having an affair with another man – a man who tried to save her when she & Jacob were drowning. Things turn bad when the cousin of Caleb’ partner decides to abduct Rachel and make her tell him what happened to Caleb. She cries that she does not know. Fred is able to get to the cabin where the man is holding her, followed by Bellamy & Tom but Rachel is shot by accident and dies. However, another copy of her returns to the town in a few hours.

Maggie discovers that her mother is also back but she tells her about a side of Fred that Maggie didn’t want to hear. Fred is devastated that his wife has returned over a week ago but hasn’t made contact with him or Maggie and she finally says that she wants nothing to do with him again. This angers him! A couple & their young daughter, dead in a flood 30+ years ago return and look for their son. Soon all over the town around a 100 dead former residents, from all different years, start popping up and Fred calls the Military who round up all the returned into one place. Their plans for the returned change when Fred shows the colonel Rachel’s dead body and her copy and they confine the returned. Marty suspecting things will get outta hand sneak out Jacob with his parents away while Tom takes Rachel away. The Langstons are furious at Fred but have Marty take Jacob away but just as he is about to leave the town limits, military helicopters and vechicle surround him and the last shot is a birthmark on Marty which lets us know that he is the boy who the returned family of 3 is looking for!

So who or what is behind the returned people? God / angels (fuck I hope not but it doesn’t look so) or is it an experiment by humans themselves or is it aliens? And why only Arcadia; what’s so special about that small town? None of these answers are provided and it irks the hell outta me. Also with only 8 episodes the show feels rushed, the final 2 episodes especially. Things start slow and then pick up at an alarming pace. They should have had atleast 13-16 episodes. But that’s the trend these days with television. Less and less shows have a full season of 23 or more episodes. Most have just 13 and this one is a ridiculous 8. But it’s well cast and acted. I would love to see season 2 soon.