Ten women are slain, their bodies dumped across the iconic hillsides of Los Angeles; activists demand justice as the media turns murder into spectacle; detectives Frank Salerno and Pete Finnigan race to stop the killer before he strikes again.

Detectives link two killings in Bellingham, WA, to Ken Bianchi, exposing him as the Hillside Strangler; facing death row, he claims amnesia and submits to hypnosis; decades later, Bianchi argues his murderous confessions were fabricated.

Bianchi's insanity plea collapses, and he flips on cousin Angelo Buono to avoid the death penalty; but as the trial becomes a media circus, Bianchi's story keeps changing, forcing the district attorney to move to dismiss the case.

As the case falters, the judge turns Buono's prosecution over to the California Attorney General, launching the longest and most expensive trial in U.S. history; decades later, Bianchi maintains his innocence and fights for parole.