Chief Jim Hopper reveals long-awaited secrets to Eleven about his old life as a police detective in New York City, confronting his past before the events of the hit show Stranger Things. Christmas, Hawkins, 1984. All Chief Jim Hopper wants is to enjoy a quiet first Christmas with Eleven, but his adopted daughter has other plans. Over Hopper&;s protests, she pulls a cardboard box marked &;New York&; out of the basement&;and the tough questions begin. Why did Hopper leave Hawkins all those years ago? What does &;Vietnam&; mean? And why has he never talked about New York?Although he&;d rather face a horde of demogorgons than talk about his own past, Hopper knows that he can&;t deny the truth any longer. And so begins the story of the incident in New York&;the last big case before everything changed. . . .Summer, New York City, 1977. Hopper is starting over after returning home from Vietnam. A young daughter, a caring wife, and a new beat as an NYPD detective make it easy to slip back into life as a civilian. But after shadowy federal agents suddenly show up and seize the files about a series of brutal, unsolved murders, Hopper takes matters into his own hands, risking everything to discover the truth.Soon Hopper is undercover among New York&;s notorious street gangs. But just as he&;s about to crack the case, a blackout rolls across the boroughs, plunging Hopper into a darkness deeper than any he&;s faced before.