Serija nam prikaže kako lahko usodna diagnoza vpliva na povsem običajnega, pridnega človeka in na njegovo moralo ter ga spremeni v glavnega akterja trgovine z mamili. Učitelj kemije Walter White živi s sinom najstnikom, ki ima cerebralno paralizo in ženo povsem običajno življenje v Novi Mehiki. Ko mu postavijo diagnozo 3. stopnje raka in napovejo le še dve leti življenja spozna, da nima več kaj za izgubiti. Odloči se, da bo pred smrtjo svoji družini zagotovil varno prihodnost, zato se Walt poda na pot drog in kriminala. Začne proizvajati in prodajati metamfetamin z enim od svojih nekdanjih študentov in kmalu se izkaže, da je v tem zanj novem svetu izjemno vešč...

20-year-old Janine Grabowski disappears in a small Bavarian town near the Czech border. While all evidence indicates that Janine secretly wanted to leave the backcountry, her mother, Michelle, becomes increasingly convinced that there's something amiss. Michelle's missing person's report is quickly filed away by the police. So the single mother is forced to investigate at her own risk. The longer she hunts for an answer to Janine's disappearance, the more she discovers about her daughter and the people with whom she kept company. She begins to doubt whether Janine even wants to be found.