Sons of Anarchy is FX’s original series about an outlaw motorcycle club in the fictional northern California town of Charming. Founded by a group of disgruntled Vietnam veterans in the 1960′s, the Sons of Anarchy (or “SAMCRO” as they are called by their members) would go from being a group of friends celebrating motorcycles and life on the margins of American society to a full-blown criminal enterprise dedicated to running guns, racketeering, embezzlement, murder, prostitution and other unsavory acts.

The club’s founder, John Teller, is long dead, and SAMCRO is now in the hands of Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), John’s best friend. Married to Teller’s widow, Gemma (Katey Segal), Morrow raised John’s surviving son Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and rules the club and the town of charming with impunity.

After the birth of his own son in the series’ opening, Jax uncovers a secret manuscript written by his late father that provides an account of the history of the club and how it veered from its original intentions into an organization that shamed its founder. This prompts Jax to take a long hard look at himself and his role in the club’s activities — sparking a personal transformation that is central to the first season’s stunning finale.

The set-up for the show is straight out of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Gemma is the power behind the throne, pulling Clay’s strings and manipulating the club to her own ends. She wants any thoughts of dissent swept from her son’s thoughts — partially to keep the club going, but also to keep him from uncovering the many evils that she and Clay are responsible for, including possibly the murder of Jax’s father.

On top of this, Jax’s high school sweetheart Tara (the show’s Ophelia) returns to Charming after many years in Chigago — once a biker chick and now a respectable doctor, Tara has her own baggage that will ultimately become intertwined with Jax and SAMCRO. The two still have feelings for one another, and that bond will help Jax find his true path and also lead to conflict with Clay and Gemma.

I could spend thousands of words describing all the great characters and relationships in Sons of Anarchy. On top of the amazing Shakespeare analog, the show also gives the audience a glimpse into a world that one rarely is never portrayed on television — a world with its own rules and code of honor. There are very few shows on television where I see the people I grew up with in western Maryland — and yet many of the characters in Sons of Anarchy could be my elementary school classmates from downtown Hagerstown, my cousins and uncle, or even my own father. In a sense these are my people, and Sons of Anarchy gets them 100% right. No one on this show is pretty — although Hunnam is toned down a bit through make-up and wardrobe to overcome his own pretty boy looks — and everyone looks real. Even Tara looks like someone who could have once lived a harder life — there is very little room for beauty and artifice on this show.

The characters are morally ambiguous, likable, but paradoxically horrible. Gemma is dedicated to maintaining the club’s criminal edifice through any means necessary, but at the same time is a loyal wife and mother who will do anything to protect her family. Clay is a man of violence and amorality, yet he also shows glimmers of kindness and courage. The same can be said for the other bikers in club — Opie, Piney, Tig, Juice, Halfsack and Bobby. And of course, especially, Jax.

I do think it’s worth noting that I had some difficulty getting into the show. Despite being enamored with the pilot, I was disappointed to see Jax’s doubts wiped away in the second episode, only to return half-way through the series. I understand the pilot was designed to illustrate the direction the show would go in, but having Jax become 100% committed to the club’s criminal activities after seeming on the path of rebuking them was a bit surprising given the pilot.

However, starting with the episode “Giving Back,” Sons of Anarchy becomes an irresistible freight train, hurtling towards its inevitable conclusion of violence and tested loyalties. I’m keeping this review as ambiguous as I can to avoid spoiling the show. By the end, I found myself not just an enthusiastic fan, but hungry for the second season. This may be the best show on American television at the moment, and you’d be doing yourself a big favor by checking it out.