Episode list

Weaving together the stories of five of America's most notorious serial killers--Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Green River Killer and BTK--those closest to the crimes analyze the overlapping societal factors that allowed these killers to claim hundreds of victims while evading capture.

In the mid-to-late 1970s, Bundy, Gacy and BTK begin claiming victims, while Dahmer and the Green River Killer inch ever closer to realizing their grim fantasies. These dangerous men were able to blend into their communities and lead seemingly ordinary lives, which allowed them to elude several close calls with police.

With their confidences growing in 1978, Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, the Green River Killer, and BTK - also known as "The Five" - continue their game of cat and mouse with law enforcement, - some even going as far as directly taunting the police and media.

After years of evading capture, Gacy and Bundy are finally brought to justice as they both face punishment for their heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the Green River Killer is still at large and becoming more of a threat than ever; Dahmer struggles to resist his murderous urges; and BTK has also gone silent while he raises a family.

In the mid-1980s, two of "The Five," Gacy and Bundy, sit on death row as their murderous rampages have at last been curtailed. Meanwhile, the Green River Killer has claimed 41 lives, and with no major suspects, the case's ground-breaking task force accepts help from an unlikely source - Ted Bundy; BTK kills his own neighbor; and a decade after his first kill, Dahmer succumbs to his devious fantasies and commits his most heinous crimes to date.

After years of public fear at the hands of "The Five," the remaining three killers are captured between 1991-2005. In an ironic twist, the perfect storm of culture, media, law enforcement, and technology these men had exploited to evade capture has evolved ultimately sealing their fates and ending their reigns of terror.