The head of the FBI Behavioral Science unit, Jack Crawford, calls on profiler Will Graham to assist them catch a serial killer. The killer has now kidnapped eight women, all similar in appearance and always on a Friday. His most recent victim is Elise Nichols. Graham has been teaching at the FBI academy and isn't too keen on going out into the field. He is particularly empathetic and has a tendency to get far too involved in these types of cases. Crawford arranges for a well-known psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter, to work with him and ease the stress. It seems Lecter has his own plans for Will.

Will and Jack hunt a killer who is burying his victims alive, so they will become fertilizer for his garden of fungus. While the tabloid journalist Freddie sets targets in on Will.

Determined to give Abigail closure, Will and Hannibal take Abigail back to the scene of her father's crimes. But things take a turn for the worse when the copycat killer strikes again.

A series of family murders takes place, and Will determines they were conducted by each of the families' missing children, who were abducted and brainwashed into killing their old families for their "new family." Against Alana's advice, Hannibal checks Abigail out of the hospital for some frightening psychiatric practices that ultimately align her loyalty with him.

The BAU is called in when a man is found in a hotel room bathtub with his kidney removed and Graham must determine whether this is the act of an organ harvester or if the Chesapeake Ripper has claimed his first victim in two years. Meanwhile, Crawford continues to be haunted by the discovery of Miriam Lass's arm. Dr. Bloom suspects that Crawford has become obsessed with catching the Ripper, and is putting Graham in danger by making him chase the Ripper.

A totem pole of human bodies ranging from freshly killed to decades old are found on a beach and while Graham is investigating the crime scene, he suddenly finds himself in Lecter's office, three and a half hours away, with no recollection of how he got there. Lecter theorizes that Graham's mind is trying to escape from having to investigate such brutal murders.

Following an offhand comment by Graham, a comb left in the chamber of Georgia Madchen, who accidentally sparks a fire inside her hyperbaric chamber and is burned to death. Angered, Graham deduces that several recent murders were all the work of a copycat patterning after recent serial murders, and that Georgia was killed because she may have remembered the face of whoever had killed Dr. Sutcliffe.

Following his strange trip to Minnesota, Graham is taken into custody by Crawford for the probable murder of Abigail Hobbs. They find her severed ear in his kitchen sink and her blood under his fingernails. Alana is left devastated by the arrest and is determined to find the cause of Graham's dementia, despite Crawford's insistence that there is no underlying cause. She has him draw a clock when he tells her that Dr. Lecter had him perform a similar test, and the results solidify her belief that there is a physical explanation for Graham's instability.

The FBI is called in when a dead body is discovered, the skull converted into a beehive. Meanwhile Beverly Katz finds a clue about the mural killer that sends her down a deadly path.

Jack devises a plan to apprehend Hannibal, while Hannibal prepares for his departure. Will makes his decision, and it results in devastating consequences.

Will Graham awakes from his coma and begins to piece together the events that took place after the bloodbath at Lecters home.

Dr. Fredrick Chilton is alive and well, if not somewhat reconstructed, urging those wronged by Hannibal Lecter to use Will Graham as bait to flush him out.

The search for serial killer Francis Dolarhyde heats up as Will delves into dangerous territory. He envisions himself in Dolarhyde's psyche and contacts Hannibal Lecter for help in profiling the killer.

A totem pole of human bodies ranging from freshly killed to decades old are found on a beach and while Graham is investigating the crime scene, he suddenly finds himself in Lecter's office, three and a half hours away, with no recollection of how he got there. Lecter theorizes that Graham's mind is trying to escape from having to investigate such brutal murders.

Determined to give Abigail closure, Will and Hannibal take Abigail back to the scene of her father's crimes. But things take a turn for the worse when the copycat killer strikes again.

Will Graham awakes from his coma and begins to piece together the events that took place after the bloodbath at Lecters home.

Following an offhand comment by Graham, a comb left in the chamber of Georgia Madchen, who accidentally sparks a fire inside her hyperbaric chamber and is burned to death. Angered, Graham deduces that several recent murders were all the work of a copycat patterning after recent serial murders, and that Georgia was killed because she may have remembered the face of whoever had killed Dr. Sutcliffe.

A series of family murders takes place, and Will determines they were conducted by each of the families' missing children, who were abducted and brainwashed into killing their old families for their "new family." Against Alana's advice, Hannibal checks Abigail out of the hospital for some frightening psychiatric practices that ultimately align her loyalty with him.

The search for serial killer Francis Dolarhyde heats up as Will delves into dangerous territory. He envisions himself in Dolarhyde's psyche and contacts Hannibal Lecter for help in profiling the killer.

Jack devises a plan to apprehend Hannibal, while Hannibal prepares for his departure. Will makes his decision, and it results in devastating consequences.

The head of the FBI Behavioral Science unit, Jack Crawford, calls on profiler Will Graham to assist them catch a serial killer. The killer has now kidnapped eight women, all similar in appearance and always on a Friday. His most recent victim is Elise Nichols. Graham has been teaching at the FBI academy and isn't too keen on going out into the field. He is particularly empathetic and has a tendency to get far too involved in these types of cases. Crawford arranges for a well-known psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter, to work with him and ease the stress. It seems Lecter has his own plans for Will.

Will and Jack hunt a killer who is burying his victims alive, so they will become fertilizer for his garden of fungus. While the tabloid journalist Freddie sets targets in on Will.

The BAU is called in when a man is found in a hotel room bathtub with his kidney removed and Graham must determine whether this is the act of an organ harvester or if the Chesapeake Ripper has claimed his first victim in two years. Meanwhile, Crawford continues to be haunted by the discovery of Miriam Lass's arm. Dr. Bloom suspects that Crawford has become obsessed with catching the Ripper, and is putting Graham in danger by making him chase the Ripper.