[1] Two series were produced, each focusing on two separate feature-length dramas, each based in part upon the book of the same name and its 1982 sequel, The Skull Beneath the Skin.

[3] Baxendale stars as Cordelia Gray, a young, aspiring private detective learning the ropes from her mentor, disgraced ex-policeman Bernie Pryde (Jeff Nuttall).

But when Pryde's sudden suicide leaves Cordelia the sole proprietor of his ramshackle agency, she is forced to continue her education on the job.

With only Mrs Sparshott (Annette Crosbie), the agency's longtime secretary and her new assistant on the team, Cordelia finds herself thrust headfirst into unfamiliar waters.

Guest cast Cordelia goes undercover as a holiday relief at the Claircourt Park Hotel when the proprietor is accused by his wife of sexually harassing female staff.