D/Supt Wycliffe is the head of the CID (plainclothes detective branch of the police) in Devon and Cornwall.
The strains of Wycliffe's job, which means he has to spend long periods away from home investigating cases in the most distant parts of the county, sometimes take their toll on his family life.
Wycliffe tolerates rather than welcomes visits from his immediate superior, the bonhomous Deputy Chief Constable Bellings.
For example, in the books, Wycliffe's children have grown up and are living away from home; in the TV series, both are still teenagers.
The TV Wycliffe was an accomplished jazz pianist (as Jack Shepherd is in real life).