Episode One,
It's 1896 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the healing waters have transformed a mountain town into a booming resort of bathhouses, saloons, brothels, gambling halls, and political ambition. At the center of it all is Frank Flynn — former Union soldier, city alderman, gambling boss, and the man many credit with dragging Hot Springs into the future.
His illegal gambling machine funds civic progress, protects Black-owned businesses, and creates rare opportunity in a state moving deeper into Jim Crow. To Frank, corruption is the price of progress. To his enemies, it is proof that Hot Springs is ruled by criminals.
When business rivals Bob Williams and Gracie Lane uncover evidence that Frank and his partners falsified a federal land survey to benefit the Arlington Hotel, they bring Attorney General Jack Dorsey to town. Frank tries to buy Dorsey off, then intimidates him, ultimately cutting the telegraph lines and stopping train service to keep him from reaching Little Rock before the evidence can be used.
But the truth finds another route. Gracie leaks the evidence to Freedom Matthews, the teenage daughter of Charles Matthews, editor of The Daily Hornet. Charles publishes the story, accusing Frank, Sheriff Nichols, J.D. Page, Sam Fordyce, and D.C. Rugg of operating as “The Arlington Gang.”
Fordyce and Rugg demand blood. J.D., terrified that the scandal will destroy the political machine protecting Black prosperity in Hot Springs, urges Frank to bring Matthews to heel. Frank makes one last attempt to convince Charles to retract the story, arguing that the future of the town depends on keeping certain truths buried. Charles refuses, insisting that a newspaper must serve the public, not powerful men.
As the town reels from scandal, Police Chief Fitzpatrick is killed pursuing outlaws in Malvern, leaving the weak and drunken Tom Toler unexpectedly sworn in as Acting Chief of Police. With law and order already cracking, Rugg and Fordyce attack Charles the next morning and chase him into Central Avenue. Charles fights back and nearly escapes. Then Frank steps out of The Office Saloon and shoots him dead in the street.
The only clear witness is Eli Newton, a young Black delivery driver. Charles’s daughter Freedom arrives moments later and collapses at the sight of her father’s body. Frank looks from the dead editor to the grieving girl and realizes the truth of what he has done: in trying to protect his vision of Hot Springs, he has executed the one man who believed the town could still be saved honestly.
THE ANTHOLOGY
Episode One,
It's 1896 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the healing waters have transformed a mountain town into a booming resort of bathhouses, saloons, brothels, gambling halls, and political ambition. At the center of it all is Frank Flynn — former Union soldier, city alderman, gambling boss, and the man many credit with dragging Hot Springs into the future.
His illegal gambling machine funds civic progress, protects Black-owned businesses, and creates rare opportunity in a state moving deeper into Jim Crow. To Frank, corruption is the price of progress. To his enemies, it is proof that Hot Springs is ruled by criminals.
When business rivals Bob Williams and Gracie Lane uncover evidence that Frank and his partners falsified a federal land survey to benefit the Arlington Hotel, they bring Attorney General Jack Dorsey to town. Frank tries to buy Dorsey off, then intimidates him, ultimately cutting the telegraph lines and stopping train service to keep him from reaching Little Rock before the evidence can be used.
But the truth finds another route. Gracie leaks the evidence to Freedom Matthews, the teenage daughter of Charles Matthews, editor of The Daily Hornet. Charles publishes the story, accusing Frank, Sheriff Nichols, J.D. Page, Sam Fordyce, and D.C. Rugg of operating as “The Arlington Gang.”
Fordyce and Rugg demand blood. J.D., terrified that the scandal will destroy the political machine protecting Black prosperity in Hot Springs, urges Frank to bring Matthews to heel. Frank makes one last attempt to convince Charles to retract the story, arguing that the future of the town depends on keeping certain truths buried. Charles refuses, insisting that a newspaper must serve the public, not powerful men.
As the town reels from scandal, Police Chief Fitzpatrick is killed pursuing outlaws in Malvern, leaving the weak and drunken Tom Toler unexpectedly sworn in as Acting Chief of Police. With law and order already cracking, Rugg and Fordyce attack Charles the next morning and chase him into Central Avenue. Charles fights back and nearly escapes. Then Frank steps out of The Office Saloon and shoots him dead in the street.
The only clear witness is Eli Newton, a young Black delivery driver. Charles’s daughter Freedom arrives moments later and collapses at the sight of her father’s body. Frank looks from the dead editor to the grieving girl and realizes the truth of what he has done: in trying to protect his vision of Hot Springs, he has executed the one man who believed the town could still be saved honestly.
Episode 2
After Charles Matthews is executed in the street, the only clear witness is Eli Newton, a young Black delivery driver whose testimony could bring down Frank Flynn. But telling the truth would also threaten the criminal-political machine that has made Frank the Black community’s most powerful white ally in Hot Springs.
With Sheriff Nichols away in Malvern, newly appointed Acting Police Chief Tom Toler is the only lawman in town with the authority to arrest Frank. But Toler is still a coward in most people’s eyes — drunk, disgraced, and unsure whether he has the spine for the job. After a failed attempt to confront Frank and a violent encounter with Wyatt Earp, Toler finds himself at the mercy of Black Jane. She cleans him up, steadies him, and sets him on a new path. With his partner Buck Allen, Toler gathers the courage to arrest Frank, D.C. Rugg, and Sam Fordyce.
The arrest does not last. Sheriff Nichols returns from Malvern and takes the men into his own custody, moving the case onto friendlier ground. Frank prepares for trial, once again relying on his longtime lawyer, confidant, and political partner, J.D. Page.
But Eli remains the problem. Fordyce and Rugg want him kidnapped before he can testify. Frank refuses, not out of mercy, but because disappearing a young Black delivery driver after murdering a newspaper editor would turn Hot Springs into a powder keg. Instead, he proposes a cleaner solution: pay Eli to leave town.
That task falls to J.D., trapping him between justice and survival. He respected Charles Matthews, and he knows Eli saw the truth. But if Frank goes down, the fragile system protecting Black businesses, Black jobs, and Black influence in Hot Springs from encroaching Jim Crow may collapse with him. To protect that system, J.D. would have to do the very thing Matthews died resisting: bury the truth in service of powerful men.
But when J.D. sits across from Eli, he cannot bring himself to make the offer. Faced with the boy’s fear and the memory of Charles Matthews, J.D. chooses the harder path. He tells Eli to testify. Tell the truth. Let the town hear what happened.
Meanwhile, Gracie Lane and Bob Williams announce the grand opening of The Palace Hotel and Casino with a parade through town. After months of maneuvering against Frank, their plan is finally coming together. The Palace is more than a business — it is Gracie’s late husband’s dream, Bob’s challenge to Frank’s empire, and a public declaration that Flynn no longer owns Hot Springs.
At trial, Attorney General Jack Dorsey appoints himself prosecutor, but he quickly proves no match for J.D. Page. So Dorsey changes tactics. Using newly enacted Jim Crow legislation, he has J.D. removed from the case, forcing Frank to defend himself.
The courthouse fills as the trial becomes a civic spectacle. Testimony after testimony turns against Frank. Eli takes the stand and tells the truth: Frank Flynn killed Charles Matthews. Without J.D. at his side, and with the weight of evidence mounting, it appears Frank may finally lose.
As the jury reads the charges against Frank, we intercut with Billy Flynn and a small group of men storming The Palace. They smash the finery, tear apart the casino floor, and set the building ablaze.
The jury gives its verdict... Not guilty.
As Frank is acquitted, The Palace burns. The courthouse empties into the street, where the town watches Bob and Gracie’s new hotel and casino go up in flames. Frank walks free. Bob and Gracie’s future burns. And in that moment, we learn Frank had paid off the jury before the trial ever reached its end. He was always two steps ahead.
Standing before the flames of her late husband’s dream, Gracie decides that politics and lawsuits are no longer enough. She asks Bob to hire Major A.C. Doran, the outlaw who killed Police Chief Fitzpatrick, to destroy Frank Flynn’s organization and run their hotels.
Episode 2
After Charles Matthews is executed in the street, the only clear witness is Eli Newton, a young Black delivery driver whose testimony could bring down Frank Flynn. But telling the truth would also threaten the criminal-political machine that has made Frank the Black community’s most powerful white ally in Hot Springs.
With Sheriff Nichols away in Malvern, newly appointed Acting Police Chief Tom Toler is the only lawman in town with the authority to arrest Frank. But Toler is still a coward in most people’s eyes — drunk, disgraced, and unsure whether he has the spine for the job. After a failed attempt to confront Frank and a violent encounter with Wyatt Earp, Toler finds himself at the mercy of Black Jane. She cleans him up, steadies him, and sets him on a new path. With his partner Buck Allen, Toler gathers the courage to arrest Frank, D.C. Rugg, and Sam Fordyce.
The arrest does not last. Sheriff Nichols returns from Malvern and takes the men into his own custody, moving the case onto friendlier ground. Frank prepares for trial, once again relying on his longtime lawyer, confidant, and political partner, J.D. Page.
But Eli remains the problem. Fordyce and Rugg want him kidnapped before he can testify. Frank refuses, not out of mercy, but because disappearing a young Black delivery driver after murdering a newspaper editor would turn Hot Springs into a powder keg. Instead, he proposes a cleaner solution: pay Eli to leave town.
That task falls to J.D., trapping him between justice and survival. He respected Charles Matthews, and he knows Eli saw the truth. But if Frank goes down, the fragile system protecting Black businesses, Black jobs, and Black influence in Hot Springs from encroaching Jim Crow may collapse with him. To protect that system, J.D. would have to do the very thing Matthews died resisting: bury the truth in service of powerful men.
But when J.D. sits across from Eli, he cannot bring himself to make the offer. Faced with the boy’s fear and the memory of Charles Matthews, J.D. chooses the harder path. He tells Eli to testify. Tell the truth. Let the town hear what happened.
Meanwhile, Gracie Lane and Bob Williams announce the grand opening of The Palace Hotel and Casino with a parade through town. After months of maneuvering against Frank, their plan is finally coming together. The Palace is more than a business — it is Gracie’s late husband’s dream, Bob’s challenge to Frank’s empire, and a public declaration that Flynn no longer owns Hot Springs.
At trial, Attorney General Jack Dorsey appoints himself prosecutor, but he quickly proves no match for J.D. Page. So Dorsey changes tactics. Using newly enacted Jim Crow legislation, he has J.D. removed from the case, forcing Frank to defend himself.
The courthouse fills as the trial becomes a civic spectacle. Testimony after testimony turns against Frank. Eli takes the stand and tells the truth: Frank Flynn killed Charles Matthews. Without J.D. at his side, and with the weight of evidence mounting, it appears Frank may finally lose.
As the jury reads the charges against Frank, we intercut with Billy Flynn and a small group of men storming The Palace. They smash the finery, tear apart the casino floor, and set the building ablaze.
The jury gives its verdict... Not guilty.
As Frank is acquitted, The Palace burns. The courthouse empties into the street, where the town watches Bob and Gracie’s new hotel and casino go up in flames. Frank walks free. Bob and Gracie’s future burns. And in that moment, we learn Frank had paid off the jury before the trial ever reached its end. He was always two steps ahead.
Standing before the flames of her late husband’s dream, Gracie decides that politics and lawsuits are no longer enough. She asks Bob to hire Major A.C. Doran, the outlaw who killed Police Chief Fitzpatrick, to destroy Frank Flynn’s organization and run their hotels.
Episode 3
Bob Williams travels to Malvern to recruit Major A.C. Doran. Toler knocks Wyatt Earp on his ass, then escorts him out of town. Doran arrives in Hot Springs and ambushes Flynn in the street, shooting him multiple times in the chest. He is presumed dead.
Episode 4
As Frank is carried into The Office, the doctor removes his coat to discover Frank is alive and wearing chain mail. It’s time for WAR Frank's faction arms up, contracting several hired guns. Major Doran goes into hiding, as Gracie signs the palace over to Dave Pruitt, in a sign of good faith to Flynn.
Episode 5
Bob Williams announces his candidacy in the upcoming election for Sherriff. Doran secretly re-enters Hot Springs, narrowly avoiding an ambush set by Flynn’s men. He hides out above the Owls Head Saloon and plans retaliation.
Episode 6
The election for Sherriff heats up and will be decided the black vote. Nichols wins narrowly. Doran ambushes the Flynn brothers, as they travel across town in a stagecoach. Jack Flynn is killed instantly. Toler races to the scene, armed with a double-barreled shotgun and commands the firing to stop. In the aftermath, Toler arrests everyone involved, including Doran and his hired guns.
Episode 7
Mayor Linde is tasked with handling a mob, who have gathered in the town square chanting “Hang all gamblers!” Meanwhile, Nichols wants Toler to turn the prisoners over to him, but Toler refuses, worried they will be murdered. Sighting the dysfunction between the Police and Sherriff’s department, Bob Williams calls together the most influential businessmen in Hot Springs to form The Committee of Thirteen. Their first order of business will be to run Flynn’s hired guns out of town.
Episodes 8-12
Nichols refuses to accept the authority of the Committee and takes Flynn’s hired guns under his protection. Riding the wave of public outcry, Bob Williams petitions the Governor to send 100 guns to Hot Springs and recruits a militia of the same size. It will be lead by himself, Coffee Williams, John Loughran and CW Fry. The next day Nichols is found dead in his office. The cause of death appears to be suicide.
In the following chaos, Williams is elected as interim Sherriff. Under Williams, all gamblers are systematically ejected from Hot Spring. Mose Harris follows shortly after writing an article smearing the Committee’s handling of the situation and painting Hot Springs as a lawless city overrun by a violent mob.
Against JD's wishes, Flynn has Toler embark on a series of vendetta killings to regain order. As trials begin for both Flynn and Doran, Freedom begins to investigate Nichols's murder and discovers that Gracie Lane murdered Nichols.
In a surprise to most, Doran and Flynn are both acquitted of their roles in the violence. However, the tension between the Police Department—now controlled by Flynn—and the Sherriff department—controlled by Bob and Coffee Williams—finally comes to a head, ending with a final shootout in the middle of Central Ave.
Toler is killed in the violence, along with Doran, and Johnny Williams, Bob's only son. Bob Williams arrives on the scene to find his son dead, and Police Detective Jim Hart trying to sort out what happened. Without hesitating, he grabs Hart by the lapel and fires twice point-blank into his face. Williams turns and levels his gun on JD, Flynn jumps in front of the bullet.
Williams, standing over Flynn about to finish him, when he looks up to see Black Jane staring defiantly at him. She raises her dead husband's pistol and pulls the trigger, killing the legendary Bob Williams.
Flynn and JD are left alive but gravely wounded. Flynn would die a few days later in his hospital bed, at the hands of Gracie Lane. The murder of Flynn would be brought to light by Freedom Matthews, now editor of the Hot Spring Hornet.
Episode 3
Bob Williams travels to Malvern to recruit Major A.C. Doran. Toler knocks Wyatt Earp on his ass, then escorts him out of town. Doran arrives in Hot Springs and ambushes Flynn in the street, shooting him multiple times in the chest. He is presumed dead.
Episode 4
As Frank is carried into The Office, the doctor removes his coat to discover Frank is alive and wearing chain mail. It’s time for WAR Frank's faction arms up, contracting several hired guns. Major Doran goes into hiding, as Gracie signs the palace over to Dave Pruitt, in a sign of good faith to Flynn.
Episode 5
Bob Williams announces his candidacy in the upcoming election for Sherriff. Doran secretly re-enters Hot Springs, narrowly avoiding an ambush set by Flynn’s men. He hides out above the Owls Head Saloon and plans retaliation.
Episode 6
The election for Sherriff heats up and will be decided the black vote. Nichols wins narrowly. Doran ambushes the Flynn brothers, as they travel across town in a stagecoach. Jack Flynn is killed instantly. Toler races to the scene, armed with a double-barreled shotgun and commands the firing to stop. In the aftermath, Toler arrests everyone involved, including Doran and his hired guns.
Episode 7
Mayor Linde is tasked with handling a mob, who have gathered in the town square chanting “Hang all gamblers!” Meanwhile, Nichols wants Toler to turn the prisoners over to him, but Toler refuses, worried they will be murdered. Sighting the dysfunction between the Police and Sherriff’s department, Bob Williams calls together the most influential businessmen in Hot Springs to form The Committee of Thirteen. Their first order of business will be to run Flynn’s hired guns out of town.
Episodes 8-12
Nichols refuses to accept the authority of the Committee and takes Flynn’s hired guns under his protection. Riding the wave of public outcry, Bob Williams petitions the Governor to send 100 guns to Hot Springs and recruits a militia of the same size. It will be lead by himself, Coffee Williams, John Loughran and CW Fry. The next day Nichols is found dead in his office. The cause of death appears to be suicide.
In the following chaos, Williams is elected as interim Sherriff. Under Williams, all gamblers are systematically ejected from Hot Spring. Mose Harris follows shortly after writing an article smearing the Committee’s handling of the situation and painting Hot Springs as a lawless city overrun by a violent mob.
Against JD's wishes, Flynn has Toler embark on a series of vendetta killings to regain order. As trials begin for both Flynn and Doran, Freedom begins to investigate Nichols's murder and discovers that Gracie Lane murdered Nichols.
In a surprise to most, Doran and Flynn are both acquitted of their roles in the violence. However, the tension between the Police Department—now controlled by Flynn—and the Sherriff department—controlled by Bob and Coffee Williams—finally comes to a head, ending with a final shootout in the middle of Central Ave.
Toler is killed in the violence, along with Doran, and Johnny Williams, Bob's only son. Bob Williams arrives on the scene to find his son dead, and Police Detective Jim Hart trying to sort out what happened. Without hesitating, he grabs Hart by the lapel and fires twice point-blank into his face. Williams turns and levels his gun on JD, Flynn jumps in front of the bullet.
Williams, standing over Flynn about to finish him, when he looks up to see Black Jane staring defiantly at him. She raises her dead husband's pistol and pulls the trigger, killing the legendary Bob Williams.
Flynn and JD are left alive but gravely wounded. Flynn would die a few days later in his hospital bed, at the hands of Gracie Lane. The murder of Flynn would be brought to light by Freedom Matthews, now editor of the Hot Spring Hornet.
The roaring 1920’s didn’t have much effect on the then sleepy town of Hot Springs, until New York gangster Owen “Owney” Madden arrived in the Spa. Owney would forge the largest illegal alcohol distribution network in the country, built on the bones of the Hot Springs’ historic Mountain Valley Water Depot. The lavish speakeasies he funded in Hot Springs attracted a who’s who of times biggest celebrities and musicians, and the Spa was dubbed as neutral territory by gangland luminaries like Al Capone and Frank Costello. The FBI soon followed, establishing an undercover presence that turned the crime world on itself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse–one that would ultimately end with the city drenched in blood. The crime syndicate’s truce would crumble, and the city would once again fade out of the limelight.
“The Loose Buckle in the Bible Belt.”
The roaring 1920’s didn’t have much effect on the then sleepy town of Hot Springs, until New York gangster Owen “Owney” Madden arrived in the Spa. Owney would forge the largest illegal alcohol distribution network in the country, built on the bones of the Hot Springs’ historic Mountain Valley Water Depot. The lavish speakeasies he funded in Hot Springs attracted a who’s who of times biggest celebrities and musicians, and the Spa was dubbed as neutral territory by gangland luminaries like Al Capone and Frank Costello. The FBI soon followed, establishing an undercover presence that turned the crime world on itself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse–one that would ultimately end with the city drenched in blood. The crime syndicate’s truce would crumble, and the city would once again fade out of the limelight.
“Leo and Verne”
Two young men, who had grown up revering the stories of the Spa’s heyday, would climb to political power in 1960’s on an “open town” policy that sought to bring gambling back to Hot Springs. Once in office, they would form a new incarnation of organized crime that easily eluded the FBI and local Law Enforcement, even as they brought back prostitution rings, speakeasies, and reopened the historic racetrack. Leo and Verne seemed to be too big to fail–the only thing that could bring them down would be each other–but they would do just that by falling in love with the same woman. Leo and Verne’s partnership would ultimately implode, and Hot Springs wild flirtation with legalized gambling would end forever.
Two young men, who had grown up revering the stories of the Spa’s heyday, would climb to political power in 1960’s on an “open town” policy that sought to bring gambling back to Hot Springs. Once in office, they would form a new incarnation of organized crime that easily eluded the FBI and local Law Enforcement, even as they brought back prostitution rings, speakeasies, and reopened the historic racetrack. Leo and Verne seemed to be too big to fail–the only thing that could bring them down would be each other–but they would do just that by falling in love with the same woman. Leo and Verne’s partnership would ultimately implode, and Hot Springs wild flirtation with legalized gambling would end forever.
Two young men, who had grown up revering the stories of the Spa’s heyday, would climb to political power in 1960’s on an “open town” policy that sought to bring gambling back to Hot Springs. Once in office, they would form a new incarnation of organized crime that easily eluded the FBI and local Law Enforcement, even as they brought back prostitution rings, speakeasies, and reopened the historic racetrack. Leo and Verne seemed to be too big to fail–the only thing that could bring them down would be each other–but they would do just that by falling in love with the same woman. Leo and Verne’s partnership would ultimately implode, and Hot Springs wild flirtation with legalized gambling would end forever.