Plot: En route to California to start a new life, Jack McBradden is forced to stay in the small New England town of Salem Falls until his car gets repaired following an accident caused by Roy Peabody, who was on one of his typical benders at the time. Roy and his grown single daughter Addie Peabody own and operate the diner in town, Addie who is still mourning the sudden death of who was then her adolescent daughter Chloe from bacterial meningitis some time ago. As a gesture to say sorry for Roy's actions, Addie hires Jack to do odd jobs at the diner, and provides him with room and board living above the diner with Roy for as long as he decides to stay in town. Jack initially tells them that he is a laid-off schoolteacher, but after he decides to stay permanently, largely due to his mutual and growing attraction with Addie, he is forced to tell the truth out of necessity: that he is a registered sex offender, having been convicted and jailed for eight months for having sex with one of his female students. He vows to the Peabodys that it was a false charge, and that he solely plead guilty in the face of the evidence against him for a reduced sentence on the advice of his lawyer. Both Addie and Roy ultimately believe him. However, Jack's stay in Salem Falls was already difficult before this revelation because of high schooler Gillian Duncan, who along with her father Amos Duncan, have a sense a privilege in town because of their vast wealth. Upon first sight of him, Gillian, who has been experimenting with witchcraft along with her two friends Megan and Chelsea, believed she was destined to be with Jack, despite he being twice her age. As Amos does whatever he can to drive Jack out of town, Gillian, who, regardless of his sex offender status, does whatever she needs to achieve her goal of being with Jack, which largely does include the use of spells. But Gillian believes she needs to force the situation along as when the opportunity arises, she is able, with Megan and Chelsea's corroboration, to accuse Jack of rape, with DNA evidence to prove her claim. She plans to use this accusation to get Jack to do what she wants. Although initially believing Gillian's accusation, Addie decides to help Jack by delving into the past sexual assault case against him while looking into her own past experiences at the time when she was around Gillian's age.
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