故事发生在20世纪70年代的一座美国小镇秋千镇中,苏珊(莫莉•帕克 Molly Parker 饰)和布鲁斯(杰克•达文波特 Jack Davenport 饰)刚刚从老家搬到这里。这个小镇看上去整洁而又高级,充斥着上流社会的味道。夫妻两人对他们未来在这里的生活充满了希冀。很快,苏珊和布鲁斯就和这里的老住户汤姆(格兰特•秀 Grant Show 饰)、崔娜(拉娜•帕瑞拉 Lana Parrilla 饰)结成了好友,他们和苏珊以前认识的那些夫妻不同,致力于通过“邻里监督组织”来建立一个理想和自由的社区。
苏珊的老朋友珍妮特(米利亚姆•肖尔 Miriam Shor 饰)和她的丈夫罗杰(乔什•霍普金斯 Josh Hopkins 饰)随后也搬了进来,和苏珊不同,对于这个社区里发生的一些事情,珍妮特感到无法忍受。
Joanna moves with her young son, Alfie, to the quiet town of Flinstead, seeking a fresh start. However, she quickly becomes entangled in the lives of local mothers and the unsettling dynamics of the community. When Joanna stumbles upon an online rumour about a child killer living in the town, she uses it to win over the mums at the school gate. As gossip spreads, suspicions build, and Joanna finds herself drawn into a web of secrets and paranoia. Balancing her efforts to protect her son with the growing unease in town, Joanna struggles to distinguish between truth and hearsay. With relationships strained and emotions running high, the boundaries between trust and fear blur.
The Rumour explores how quickly small-town gossip can spiral out of control, forcing Joanna to confront the unforeseen consequences of curiosity and mistrust in her search for answers. The story is based on the Sunday Times bestselling book by Lesley Kara.