On a scorching, hot summer day in 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden returns home to the house she shares with her father Andrew, stepmother Abby and sister Emma. But, unlike any normal day, Lizzie encounters the bloody scene of her parents violently murdered. Police quickly question multiple suspects in town, but evidence keeps pointing back to the Borden's youngest daughter Lizzie, the seemingly wholesome Sunday school teacher, as the prime suspect. Lizzie's lawyer, Andrew Jennings, proclaims her innocence arguing that it is inconceivable a woman could commit the heinous crime of brutally murdering her family with an ax. Or is it? Lizzie is put on trial for the murders, both in the courtroom and in the press, sparking a widespread debate about her culpability. As the case rages on, the courtroom proceedings fuel an enormous amount of sensationalized stories and headlines in newspapers throughout the country, forever leaving Lizzie Borden's name in infamy.
After being acquitted for the murders of her parents, Lizzie plans to restart her life. Agent Charles Siringo is determined to find the truth. William Almy demands payment of a debt and the Borden sisters are blackmailed by their half-brother.
Lizzie and Emma visit New York City, where Lizzie saves a street prostitute from a violent beating. But her good deed is met with wrath from a local gangster. Meanwhile, a playwright tries to get Lizzie to finance his latest work; and Siringo turns up evidence that further incriminates Lizzie.
Lizzie hosts a housewarming party in her new mansion, but the lavish affair is upstaged by a pesky actress who is distressed about her missing brother. He was last seen with Lizzie. Meanwhile, Mr. Flowers involves Lizzie in an extortion scheme; and Charles Siringo meets his anonymous employer who is determined to find the truth about Lizzie.
Charles Siringo and Nance O'Keefe join forces against Lizzie; Skipjack, the new underworld boss, exploits a lethal secret Lizzie wants hidden; a haughty neighbor incites Lizzie's wrath by mistreating her dog; and a romance threatens to come between Lizzie and her sister.
Charles Siringo connects clues that could finally mean the end of Lizzie Borden. Together with Fall River's frustrated marshal, Siringo strong-arms hoodlum Skipjack to help lock tight the case against Lizzie. But Lizzie exerts her own brand of influence on a witness. Lizzie is knocked off her footing, though, when sister, Emma, reveals that a man in her life may change their relationship forever. Meantime, a woman in Siringo's life becomes tempting forbidden fruit. Ultimately, Lizzie shows the would-be witness how hot she can make things, and reveals to Siringo's female friend the consequences of sticking your neck out when Lizzie is involved.
Lizzie devises a strategy that stops Siringo cold, and unleashes a more blunt and sinister side then ever before. Meanwhile, Emma begins to lose trust in Lizzie; and a co-conspirator who fails Lizzie realizes his mistake too late.
Lizzie remakes herself as a school teacher with a new name in a town far from Fall River to be near Emma who is in an asylum. Meanwhile, two gunslingers, Bat Masterson and Tom Horn, hunt for Lizzie and want to know the fate of their friend Siringo. When Lizzie helps a victimized student get justice Lizzie-style, she jeopardizes her cover; and Emma makes a startling choice that leaves Lizzie devastated.
Lizzie races to Boston, where Emma has taken refuge in the luxurious home of Adele Trotwood and family, with whom she has a very special connection. Stunned to find a vastly different Emma than the cherished sister she knew, Lizzie unwittingly leads Bat Masterson and Tom Horn directly into their path. However, the Trotwood family proves to be more than your average Boston Brahmins, posing an unexpected challenge to Bat and Tom. Trying to ease tensions, Emma makes an impetuous sacrifice. Lizzie plumbs the depths of her cunning to set out to ambush the gunslingers, and somehow pull the sister she dearly loves back from the abyss.
