On a hot July morning, in the height of the tourist season, in the town of Broadchurch, an 11-year-old schoolboy Danny Latimer goes missing. His mother Beth Latimer begins the search, while her best friend Ellie Miller, a local police officer, comes off leave and discovers that the promotion she had hoped for has gone to Detective Alec Hardy, a newcomer with a reputation as a loser. When Danny's body is found, the opposites collide. Miller and Hardy are determined to solve Danny's murder. As the news of the crime spreads around town, a chain reaction is set in motion that will draw Broadchurch's attention from across the country.