The 4400 tells the stories of 4,400 abductees after they are returned to earth. In the words of the executive producers, these are stories of people dealing with traumatic changes, driven by the mystery of what happened and why. Some of them have been affected in mysterious ways, and some will have certain abilities, both good and bad, so part of the drama will be watching them adjust to these changes within themselves. The series kicks off with a ball of light sailing toward Earth, but rather than the expected catastrophic event, thousands of returned abductees are left with no memory of their otherworldly experiences. Each has been gone anywhere from a few months to several decades but none has aged a day.

Lucy Spiller is the editor of "glossy tabloid" magazine DirtNow in Los Angeles. Overseeing a crack team of reporters and paparazzi, Lucy is able to manipulate the lives of numerous celebrities -- although she isn't immune to the charm and charisma of studly young actor Holt McLaren. Lucy's righthand pal at the magazine is Don Konkey, a schizophrenic photographer whose mental illness makes him a real wild card.

Ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth partners with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack, in an unlicensed private investigation business. The series is set in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, although it is portrayed as a distinct town, with Dolworth having once been a member of the fictional Ocean Beach Police Department.

After Detective Michael Britten wakes up from a car accident with his wife and teenage son, he learns the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. Trying to put the pieces of his life back together, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident! Did he lose his wife or his son? Or neither of them?