Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

Sometimes the reality of who people are is so terrifying, even to themselves, that it must remain hidden. Mark Talbot (James Murray) is one of these people. Someone with darkness in his past and in himself, a darkness from which he cannot escape, however much he wishes that he could. He seems like a nice enough lad, excitedly getting ready for his first day at Mackintosh. He's fit, clean, nice to his Mum - ex-army, Parachute Regiment no less, if his tattoo is anything to go by. He approaches his new workmates with confidence, he's charming, friendly and obviously one for the ladies, as his instant rapport with resident babe Hannah Phillips (Katisha Kenyon) demonstrates. The other blokes can't believe how quickly he's in there! However, after his first day at work, Mark is picked up by the police. He's obviously known to them and they are giving him some kind of warning now he's back in the area. But what has he been in trouble for? And why would the police be checking up on him if he's just out of the army? Nick Anderson (William Ash) is particularly impressed by Mark. His recent marriage to Kim (Emma Cunniffe) is not going too well, so a new mate to talk to is just what he needs, especially one who's been in the military - Nick's dream career. They quickly become friends, Kim too. Mark seems particularly taken with her, even engineering 'chance' meetings. But Mark has demons that refuse to stay buried. Over the next few weeks, those close to him will make shocking discoveries about what he is: Hannah, who has a viciously unpleasant brush with his nastier side; Nick, who discovers that, far from being in the army, Mark has stolen his dead brother's military past; and above all Nick's wife Kim, who will bear a terrible, secret cost for welcoming Mark into their home...

A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage drug dealer is shot dead.

Fitz, Penhaligon and the other officers at Anson Road C.I.D. attend Jimmy Beck’s funeral. Fitz meets Beck’s sister who asks him how her brother had gone so badly wrong. It turns out that Beck had talked about Fitz constantly when he rang home and his sister wanted to put a face to a “friend”. Penhaligon causes a scene at the wake when she gets very drunk. Fitz calls her a taxi and turns down her offer to go back to her house and sleep with her. Bill Preece/Nash, a 17 year old boy who is living in a children’s care home, breaks into the factory where he is doing work experience and is found by the foreman, Stuart Grady. There is an unspoken but palpable chemistry between the two and Grady lets Bill sleep on the floor in his flat. When Grady’s landlady, Mrs. Franklin finds Bill in the flat the next morning, she assumes that he is a rent boy and threatens to call the police. Grady is so distressed that Bill stabs Mrs. Franklin to stop Grady from being unhappy. She is only wounded and Grady has to deliver the fatal blow to prevent his friend from going to prison. Before they can leave the flat, Mr. Franklin comes home and finds his dying wife in the cellar trying to get out. He falls down into the cellar with her where he is later found by the police and charged with his wife’s murder. Grady is questioned by DC Alan Temple and tells him that Bill is his son. Fitz concludes that Mr. Franklin does not have the courage or strength to commit murder and that they are looking for two killers. However, he mistakenly assumes that it is a man and a woman team. Fitz’s home life is still extremely torrid since Judith seems to be going through postnatal depression following the birth of their son. She is also being increasingly drawn to Fitz’s brother as a source of comfort.