Dexter Morgan was adopted by a police officer who taught him to use his gruesome lust for killing in a positive way, to exact vengeance on the people who deserve it. Now an adult man, Dexter leads a double life as a well liked forensics expert for the Miami metro police department and a vigilante serial killer who kills perpetrators who have slipped through the justice system. Involved in the investigations of headline making murderers such as the ice truck killer, the trinity killer and even himself, dubbed the bay harbor butcher, Dexter begins to feel the pressure mount and his secret life becomes harder to hide - especially after he becomes close with his girlfriend, Rita, and his unknowing sister, Debra, joins the force. And when he becomes a family man, he has more to lose than ever. Can Dexter continue to stay one step ahead of the police and the killers he hunts, keep his dark secret hidden from the people he cares about and keep his family intact, too?
Dexter is an American crime drama mystery television series that aired from October 1, 2006 to September 22, 2013.
Orphaned at age three, when he had to witness his mother being brutally murdered with a chainsaw, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by Miami police officer Harry Morgan (James Remar). Recognizing the boy's trauma and the subsequent development of his sociopathic tendencies, Harry has manipulated Dexter to channel his gruesome bloodlust into vigilantism, killing only heinous criminals who slip through the criminal justice system. To facilitate covering his prolific trail of homicides, Dexter gains employment as a forensic analyst, specializing in blood spatter pattern analysis, for the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter is extremely cautious and circumspect; he wears gloves and uses plastic-wrapped "kill rooms", carves up the corpses, and disposes of them in the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf Stream to reduce his chances of detection. Dexter struggles to juggle his double life. Although his homicidal tendencies are deeply unflinching, and he originally claims detachment (via narration), throughout the series he strives to feel and in some cases does feel, normal emotions and maintain his appearance as a socially responsible human being.