Following the murder of his wife by notorious gangster Webster, Inspector George Gently is pondering retirement. When he hears about Webster attending a funeral of a murder victim, he delays his retirement to take on this case.
When the beaten body of wealthy German businessman is discovered in the harbour, Gently and Bacchus are forced to consider whether a barman's anti-German sentiments are a motive for murder.
After an unidentified badly burnt body is found near an RAF base in 1964, Gently works alongside Special Branch officers who suspect the victim was involved with the IRA.
When an old man is killed in his dilapidated mansion, Gently and Bacchus dig deeper into the history of the former children's home and soon have their prime suspect.
Gently and Bacchus investigate a consignment of stolen passports, but the case takes an unexpected turn when a woman linked to the crime is found dead on the seashore with her mixed-race baby lying next to her.
A young woman's body is found, and the investigation leads Gently and Bacchus to suspect the victim's estranged husband is responsible for the killing.
When an academic is found dead after a CND rally, Gently and Bacchus are dispatched to Durham University to investigate his background - and find themselves in the midst of a wave of social and sexual rebellion.
After a young black girl is murdered, Gently uncovers a disturbing and malevolent racist undercurrent lurking both within the local community and his own police force.
Gently and Bacchus are given an insight into the complexities of the emotionally wrought world when the adopted child of a middle-class couple is kidnapped.
Gently and Bacchus experience the inflated authority of their "social betters" firsthand when a beautiful young girl is found dead in the passenger seat of an upturned car registered to local aristocrats.
The Newcastle police have arrested rioters as they tried to clear a slum due for demolition. The next morning, one of the protesters is discovered dead in the cells by WPC Rachel Coles.
A suspicious death in the mine in Burnsend leads Gently and Bacchus to explore the tensions and relationships in a community whose seams have been ripped wide open by politics.
Gently's investigation into the rape of a prostitute leads him to unravel how rape is handled within the police force and deal with animosity from his colleague.
A man is found dead at the backdrop of the Wildcat riots, where rubbish is piling on the streets. The victim was in a lot of debt - but who killed him and why?
