Chief of Scotland Yard is an old-fashioned policeman who has gained respect but few friends through his single-minded pursuit of law-breakers and his disgust with the corruption in the police force. Gently decides to retire after the murder of his wife, but not before solving one final case. Relocating to Northumberland, where he is aided by the ambitious young Det Sgt John Bacchus, Gently deploys a combination of reason, deduction and a somewhat jaded understanding of man's nature to get his man.