The Cutting Season: Plot Summary

1. Caren, a black woman, manages the plantation, handling school events and weddings.
2. During Caren's first week, a cottonmouth interrupts a wedding.
3. Caren discovers the body of a female illegal cane worker.

4. Caren has historical ties to Belle Vie through her ancestor, Jason, a former slave.
5. Detective Lang interrogates Caren and seems suspicious of Donovan.
6. Caren informs her daughter, Morgan, about the death on Belle Vie.
7. Owner Raymond Clancy wants to keep the murder secret from his family and guests.
8. Detective Lang interviews Morgan, who provides interesting details.
9. Lang tells Caren he needs to talk to Donovan and shares his murder theories.
10. Caren dismisses Miguel due to his illegal status and cries afterwards.
11. Caren confronts Morgan about the blood on her shirt.

12. Caren speaks with Giles Schuyler, CEO of Merryvale Properties.
13. Bobby Clancy checks on the family business at an event.
14. Caren calls Morgan's father, Eric, for support.
15. Caren disposes of Morgan's bloody shirt and recognizes the dead woman.
16. Donovan calls Caren early in the morning, agreeing to meet her.
17. Caren drives past the slave quarters and hears a hymn sung by cane workers and a priest, with Deputy Harris watching.
18. Hunt Abrams tells the workers and the priest to leave.
19. Caren remembers seeing the murdered woman and Bobby Clancy during a recent shopping trip.
20. Morgan and Caren experience tension during breakfast as Letty notices the bleach is gone, used by Caren to clean Morgan's shirt.
21. Detectives Bertrand and Lang interview Donovan, who denies knowing the woman but lacks a solid alibi.
22. Caren informs the detectives that a cane knife is missing from the slave quarters.
23. Pearl tells Caren that Clancy plans to sell the plantation, prompting Caren to investigate further.
24. Caren recounts her resentment for her mother, Belle Vie, and Ascension Parish.
25. Raymond reveals plans to sell Belle Vie due to his father's age and his political ambitions.
26. Raymond instructs Caren to keep the murder quiet to protect the Clancy family's reputation.
27. Caren learns from Morgan's school that a man, not a cop, came asking for her.
28. Morgan gets in trouble for reading unapproved material in class, and Caren explains that Morgan's father is getting married.
29. Caren discovers that the dead woman was Ines Avalo and recognizes the earrings found in Hunt Abrams' trailer.
30. Donovan's grandmother informs Caren of Donovan's arrest, and Eric agrees to help.

31. Caren realizes Clancy is planning to sell Belle Vie to the Groveland Corporation.
32. Morgan confesses to seeing the murder weapon but does not report it.
33. Caren learns more about Jason's murder through Danny's dissertation.
34. Detective Lang informs Caren that the missing cane knife matches the murder weapon.
35. Caren confronts Bobby Clancy, who confesses to killing Ines but claims it was an accident.
36. Caren, Eric, and Morgan attend Ines's memorial service.
37. Caren finds out that Ines thought someone was following her before her death.
38. Raymond Clancy announces the sale of Belle Vie and shuts down operations.
39. Caren discovers the tapes Donovan made that could prove his innocence.
40. Donovan pleads not guilty to homicide, and Caren and Eric work to clear his name.
41. Caren and Owens investigate further, discovering more about Groveland and Abrams.
42. Eric confronts Caren about the missing bloody shirt.
43. Caren realizes Bobby Clancy has her cell phone and knows more about the murder.
44. Bobby holds Eric at gunpoint but is stopped by Hunt Abrams.
45. Caren reveals everything to the police and plans to move to Washington, leaving Belle Vie behind.