Spoilers ahead for The Bondsman episode 1, "Pot O' Gold"
Kevin Bacon is a bail bondsman named Hub Halloran who takes on a job that goes wrong, resulting in his violent murder.
But let's go back a little bit. How does Hub end up with his throat slit? When we first meet Hub, he's on his way to a rundown motel searching for a wanted man named Jeb Tucker. Hub has some rather unorthodox methods of getting his man, as he stuffs an angry wasp nest into the room's vent, forcing its inhabitant to run out screaming.
The problem is that the man in question isn't Jeb Tucker. It's a guy named Billy Earle. Billy and his brother Clyde phoned in a false tip to lure Hub to the premises, and when Hub is distracted, Clyde shoots him and slits his throat. They shove his body in between the motel room walls.
So, hours later, when Hub is revived, he finds himself stuck in the drywall and has to wiggle his way out. Once back in the room, he comes face-to-face with Tater (Mike Kaye) a hired hand told to burn the place down and remove the evidence. Hub kidnaps Tater and shoves him in the trunk of his car to question as needed and learn more about who hired the Earle brothers to kill him.
Having just returned from Hell, Hub looks the worse for the wear. His throat is still sporting a nasty mortal wound, including a gaping hole that spews cigarette smoke whenever Hub takes a puff. But he doesn't let them stop him; he wraps some duct tape around it and takes off. The only other sign he's been down under is some strange finger marks on his forearm, indicating something dragging him back to the land of the living.
Hub returns to home, a place where he lives with his mom, Kitty (Beth Grant), a devout woman with a close connection to their local pastor, Ron. Throughout these scenes, Hub has started fielding calls from a company known as Pot O' Gold. For now, he ignores it.
Once the pastor leaves, Hub tells his mom what happened at the motel (well, minus the dying part). He's pissed that the brothers stole the truck, which happens to be Kitty's. And he's confused at how Billy got out of jail. Kitty informs him that a man named Lucky Callahan (Damon Herriman) bailed him out.
Come to find out that Lucky is dating Hub's ex, a charming country club singer named Maryanne Dice (Jennifer Nettles), who happens to be the mother of his son, Cade (Maxwell Jenkins). Lucky is shocked to learn that Hub is somehow still alive.
By the time Hub has arrived at Maryanne's workplace, his wound has completely healed, so he has no proof that Lucky ordered the Earle brothers to kill him. She doesn't appear phased when Hub warns her about Lucky being dangerous, though he agrees to hold off on arresting him for now. Maryanne requests that Hub sign a form allowing her to take Cade out of state for a job, as she'll be working as her stagehand.
Afterward, Cade informs Hub that Lucky has gone to play poker in a sketchy cabin. On his way there, Hub passes his mom's church and notices Pastor Ron outside; his eyes flash menacingly, revealing his proper demonic form. This becomes a problem when Hub reaches the cabin, and all hell breaks loose as Hub starts fighting with the Earle brothers, although Lucky is not there.
Hub ties up the brothers and sets a trap for Lucky to come so he can confront him, but instead, Pastor Ron shows up and starts murdering everyone in the room in violent ways. As a demon, he contorts their bodies and throws them all over the cabin while Hub watches from behind a door.
After making a narrow escape, Hub returns home and finds a woman named Midge waiting for him and chatting with Kitty. Midge (Jolene Purdy) knows everything about Hub, including the fact that he was yanked out of Hell to start his new job for Pot O' Gold. She informs him that she's like his parole officer, monitoring him as he takes on his assignments, which involve hunting down demons for the Devil.