The opening scene of Episode 1 of "How to Get to Heaven from Belfast" unfolds with best friends Dara, Robyn, and Saoirse sprinting through the woods, evading a mysterious facility. They seek refuge in an abandoned cabin, where they encounter a peculiar symbol on the wall and a girl seated on the floor. Their bond unbreakable then, as they stand outside watching the cabin engulfed in flames, we leap forward through time.
Twenty years later, these once-inseparable friends have grown apart, each leading their own distinct lives. Robyn, a flustered mother of three boys, is unhappy with her partner Jim for not fulfilling his duties. Her youngest, Jack, is prematurely hitting his terrible twos early, adding to her woes. Saoirse is a writer for the popular British show "Murder Code," but the executives and showrunner are more interested in focusing on the main character Emma's sex life rather than murder. Meanwhile, Dara is questioning her life choices and resides with her sister, Jamie, and their mother.
The trio is brought together by the news that Greta, the fourth member of their group of best friends, has passed away. They receive an email from Greta's sister Gaye and set off on a road trip to Donegal. None of them have spoken to Greta in 20 years, and tensions are high between the group. Saoirse and Robyn argue over fashion choices, and their argument is exacerbated when they break down on the side of the road due to Dara mistakenly putting petrol in a diesel car.
As they are unexpectedly forced into an unscheduled stop, Saoirse finds herself flirting with the recovery driver, Liam, who has just arrived. However, it's worth noting that Saoirse is also engaged!
Anyway, Liam drives them to the town of Knockdara, where he reveals that Greta's husband, Owen, is actually his boss. But Liam isn't just a recovery driver; he's also a cop in this small town.
The official story is that Greta fell down the stairs, but between her social media being removed and strange phone calls that night, the trio soon realizes that something isn't quite right. The girls, each with matching tattoos on their bodies (which will be important later!), sit in the hotel bar that night reminiscing about old times. However, things soon become chaotic as they start drinking and go wild on the dancefloor.
Getting blind drunk at this point is the worst possible decision. They eventually show up at the wake in the morning, struggling with nasty, stinking hangovers. After making their way to Greta's house, they find the front door unlocked. When they head inside, they are immediately unnerved by a returning old face - Greta's mother, Mrs. Heaney. She's there with Owen, but he's just as unnerving as she is. It soon becomes clear why.
It turns out that there's no such person as Gaye, and inside the casket is a body that doesn't appear to be Greta either. She doesn't have the matching tattoo the others have, and there's clearly something more sinister going on here. The girls quickly scatter, just as Owen decides to give chase and follow them. Unfortunately, the girls crash their car on the road and end up trapped upside down, while Owen stalks toward them.
As the episode closes out, we see that Greta is actually still alive and appears to be somewhere sunny... surely that can't be the United Kingdom, can it?
