So there's organized crime in Fargo. A latter day Ma Barker and her husband and their nitwit sons are running an extortion ring among other things. Meanwhile, we travel to the southwest corner of the state of Minnesota to Luverne (you may remember it as one of the focus cities in Ken Burns' "The War"). Horrible things begin to happen at a Waffle House. The Gerhardts are having trouble because of a judge's decision and one of them follows her to the restaurant. There he confronts her and she lays into him. He kills everyone in the place, following a waitress into a snowy field. Unfortunately, a car, passing through, hits him and carries him away on the hood. We are introduced to several entities. A sheriff and his son in law. A butcher's assistant, who aspires to take over the shop, and his ditzy wife who is working on "finding herself." We also have a cop who has a little girl and wife who is dealing with cancer. It's obvious that things are going to eventually happen in Fargo. This is masterfully introduced with great possibilities ahead.