How to Get Away with Murder (season 5)

As Connor Walsh, Michaela Pratt, Asher Millstone and Laurel Castillo start their third year at law school, Annalise Keating returns to teaching part-time for the Advanced Trial Skills class, selecting 24 new students to help her retry old cases for her class action suit. Following her win at the Supreme Court, Annalise also starts working at Caplan & Gold after receiving multiple job offers, working aside Tegan and the new managing partner, Emmett Crawford. Meanwhile, Bonnie gets closer to A.D.A. Miller in an attempt to find out how much he knows about the group, as Nate investigates Bonnie's child, whom she thought was dead but is confirmed to be alive. At the same time, new second-year student Gabriel Maddox impresses Annalise and is chosen as one of the twenty four students to help her with the case load, while Asher gets left out. Oliver, Connor, Michaela and Laurel move in together in a new house, and Frank starts suspecting Gabriel's own reasons for being at Middleton.

Annalise takes on her first client from the class action suit, with Michaela working on the case too. Emmett starts to get a closer look to Annalise's class and students, finding out that Laurel Castillo is working on the clinic. Tegan is afraid that with Michaela and Laurel working there, everyone will find out she was the "Jane Doe" who exposed Jorge; so Laurel tells Emmett that her mother must have been the one who exposed Jorge since she has disappeared after he went to jail. Thankfully, Tegan gets Christopher into Caplan & Gold daycare. In the meantime, Asher lands a job on the D.A.'s office after stalking A.D.A. Miller and Bonnie herself. Frank continues to investigate Gabriel, and gets him to move into Rebecca's old apartment, where he has cameras installed; Nate goes to an agency and finds that a woman who looks similar to Bonnie stealing her baby.

Annalise and Emmett take on a wealthy client who is accused of killing his work partner, and the D.A. in charge of the case is Ronald Miller. During the case, Asher reveals to Miller that he and Bonnie used to date. In the meantime, the governor continues to threaten Annalise's class action suit, by forcing everyone in Annalise's class into an ethics exam. Frank continues to investigate Gabriel, and finds a fake ID and a hard drive among his things; and Oliver finds out Frank's investigating Gabriel. Nate finds the nurse who worked on the shift when Bonnie's baby was stolen, and it seems like Bonnie is the one who took him. When he finally brings this to Annalise, she tells him that the woman on the picture is actually Bonnie's sister.

After Nate confronts Annalise about Bonnie's past, he asks her to tell Bonnie that her child may be alive. She hesitates to do so, while she tries to obtain permission to argue insanity in Nate Sr.'s case. Emmett tries to sign a new rich client with the help of Tegan, who tests Michaela's ambition by having her attempt to develop a blackmail ploy to force the client to sign. Connor discovers that Annalise did help him to get back into Middleton, and he later confronts her about it, causing her to make Gabriel, rather than Connor, second chair for Nate Sr.'s case. Oliver confronts Frank about hacking Gabriel, and both he and Laurel start investigating on their own. Eventually, Annalise tells Bonnie about the file that Denver had on her, and how Nate discovered her child may be alive.

Annalise asks her students what they think she did wrong in court on Nate Sr.'s trial that they could not win just yet. As the students start to analyze what they could have done wrong, we see the trial unfold as they change their strategies constantly. In the meantime, Bonnie reflects about her child, and she finally tells Miller a part of her dark past. At the end, Laurel confronts Frank about spying on Gabriel and who he is. Bonnie goes to her sister's house to get answers.

Governor Lynne Birkhead offers Annalise a plan for her to work with her to implement a "Fair Defense Project", which would require her to leave her job at Caplan & Gold. Bonnie talks with her sister Julie, who admits that she did take the baby. Julie later reveals that she ran with the baby and apparently buried him in the woods. Connor's and Oliver's mothers visit their sons in preparation for the wedding, and Oliver finally comes clean with his mom about being HIV positive. Laurel keeps her secrets. To Emmett's dismay, Annalise takes the governor's deal to get Nate Sr. pardoned and out of the mental facility, but he is shot and killed before being released from prison.

Nate Sr.'s death is ruled a justifiable homicide, since he allegedly attacked one of the guards during his transport. Annalise believes that the governor is playing her. This is confirmed when the governor informs Annalise that the Pennsylvania Fair Defense Project will not be going forward. As a result, Annalise gets Tegan to help her get her job back at Caplan & Gold. Connor and Oliver secure a church and a minister for the wedding, and Connor attacks and gets into a fight with a homophobic man. Gabriel suspiciously tries to get closer to Michaela, and later the two have sex. Laurel and Frank continue spying on Gabriel, which Bonnie later finds out.

After Bonnie kills Ron, Nate takes the body in his car to dispose of it. Bonnie goes to the bathroom with Christopher to clean up but Michaela stumbles upon them and grows suspicious after she notices blood on Bonnie's leg. Gabriel reveals the true intent behind his transfer to Middleton: an effort to know more about his father, Sam Keating, and specifically about his death. Asher, Laurel and Michaela grow suspicious that Bonnie may have done something to Gabriel. Laurel later discovers blood stains on Christopher's blanket, which heighten her suspicions. Eve shows up at Annalise's door, informing her of Sam's past efforts to reconnect with his ex-wife that never came to fruition. Later that night, Gabriel calls someone to tell them that "she" knows.

After watching the prison tapes, Laurel is convinced her incarcerated father is behind all the recent developments. Frank continues his investigation into the death of Nate Sr. and if Ron was involved. Frank stalks the prison guard who was on duty on the night of Nate Sr.'s death; she confesses that Xavier Castillo, working with the governor, was the mastermind behind Sr.'s death, which exonerates Ron Miller. Annalise and Frank decide to tell the wrong version of the story to save Nate and Bonnie the guilt from having murdered an innocent man. Emmet is taken into custody by the FBI in connection with the murder of Nate Sr., but he is later released with Annalise's help, and he vows to run for DA. He is later seen on the floor of his office gasping for air. Annalise and Laurel storm out of Xavier's office after a heated, bitter exchange of words. Laurel disappears from Annalise's side and her son is also discovered missing.