Trevor Radford, Managing Director of the family's Radford Breweries, is found murdered in the brewery. He had been working late one evening mounting a defense against an unwelcome takeover attempt from a rival brewery. There appears to be some disagreement in the family as to whether they should sell out. His brother Stephen, an entrepreneur in his own right, thought the time had come to rid themselves of a losing proposition but their father would like to maintain the family tradition that now spans 150 years. Morse and Lewis learn that Trevor's wife was having an affair with Stephen, so there is always the possibility that there this is a crime of passion rather than greed. They also learn of a long ago claim against the business' assets.

Morse is pressed into service when, while attending a college dinner for an eclectic group of foreign summer students, a Japanese member of the group suddenly excuses himself and a short time later is found brutally murdered in his room. There are any number of suspects, several of whom had bad experiences with the Japanese during World War II and at least one student that is clearly not what he claims to be. When traces of drugs are found on the Japanese student's clothing the drug squad is now involved. But when a second member of the group is murdered, Morse is convinced that this is far more than a simple case of drug smuggling gone awry.

Lawrence Cryer is a fraudster serving a sentence in a minimum security prison.The initial cause of death was thought to be a heart attack but the autopsy reveals he was struck down. Cryer was one of three businessmen who had defrauded millions from would be investors. His fellow fraudsters, Alex Bailey and Brian Thornton, are serving their sentences in the same prison. Cryer's young widow is now having an affair with Thornton's son and Bailey continues to engage in financial planning of some sort. Morse believes that the three must have salted some money abroad but is having difficulty finding the evidence. When a second fraudster collapses from an overdose of heart medication, Morse focuses on those who lost money in the investment scheme but the answer lies elsewhere.

Morse and Lewis investigate the murder of fun-loving raconteur Harry Field, a mediocre artist with no real style to call his own, with many of his paintings featuring the same mystery woman. As they dig deeper into his past, they discover a possible link to art forgery. Meanwhile, Lewis considers trying for a promotion in Traffic Division.

When the case against the Abingdon gang comes under scrutiny, Morse and Lewis must travel to Australia to locate their prime informant who was resettled there with his entire family in exchange for the information he provided the police. When they get there, they find the informant, Kenny Stone (now known as Mike Harding), is somewhat difficult to pin down. When they learn that someone in Mike's family subscribes to a newspaper from home, they fear that members of his old gang may also be looking for him. When Harding's daughter is kidnapped, they have two people to find, but not surprisingly Morse and the local constabulary knock heads from the outset. What Morse learns about the original convictions, however, turns the entire case on its head.

建筑师Steve因得罪了公司总裁Gilbert被裁退。为了生活，他想卖掉房子，带着小女儿Alice到另一个城市工作。Alice不愿离开熟悉的环境，游说Steve把房子改为小客栈，小客栈开张后，生意越来越好，可是Gilbert却三番五次来搞乱，要逼Steve把房子给他，好让他进行一项房地产发展计划。

Morse and Lewis find themselves in Vicenza, Italy looking into the death of May Lawrence who was killed while attending a psychotherapy clinic there. The clinic is run by Russell Clark, a convicted fraudster who is well known to Morse and the British authorities. Morse is particularly enjoying the trip, all the more so when he learns that one of the patients at the clinic is Nicole Burgess, a well-known opera singer. What Morse learns suggests fraud in the selling of counterfeit rare manuscripts but the culprits are anything but obvious. As well, the link to May Lawrence's death remains elusive.

Victoria Hazlett is a brilliant student who aspired to the priesthood in the Anglican Church. When she collapses and dies during an exam, the post-mortem reveals that she was likely poisoned, but the pathologist can't quite identify one of the substances found in her system. Victoria was a member of a group that advocated women priests and ran a shelter for women who required assistance in their life. Several members of the group feel that an anti-womens' group led by the Reverend Geoffrey Boyd is responsible, but there is little evidence. There is a link to a nearby weight loss clinic. Morse is quite attracted to one of the women in the group but is taken aback when he learns she lied to him about her whereabouts the night before Victoria died.

Morse and Lewis investigate the death of Michael Gifford a successful architect who was strangled while sitting in his vehicle in a multi-level car park. As they look into his background, they find he was an egotist who had affairs with several women and had employees who are either indifferent to or devastated at his death. There are several suspects including Brian Pierce, who was re-directing company funds for his own use, Rosemary Henderson, with whom he was having an affair and her husband George who is dying of liver failure. In the end, Morse uncovers a clever deception that finally puts them on the path to identifying the killer.

Morse and Lewis investigate the murder of wealthy industrialist Sir John Balcombe. There is little love lost in the Balcombe family and no great remorse when Sir John is found dead, obviously bludgeoned to death. The dead man's wife and two sons all seem worried about other things. To Morse's annoyance, there is a great deal of media coverage, some of it quite personal. He also comes under pressure from his superior, Chief Supt. Alun Armstrong, to produce results. When a second murder occurs on the Balcombe estate, Morse begins to focus on the family's history and learns that Mrs. Balcombe has a little known secret in her past.

When John Peter Barrie escapes from a maximum security mental institution, the police assign all available resources to finding him. Barrie is a dangerous sex offender known as the Devil's Disciple. Morse is assisted by Barrie's psychiatrist, Dr. Esther Martin. Barrie contacts Morse and they begin a deadly game of cat and mouse. When Morse refuses to play the game Barrie's way, the madman kidnaps a woman and demands that Dr. Martin be held for a future exchange. As the investigation proceeds, Morse believes Barrie has accomplices in the area but after a local cultist is killed, he realizes he has been looking in wrong direction all along.

Morse's police work and love of music come together as he investigates the murder of a journalist who was writing about college benefactor Andrew Baydon, and is witness when opera singer Gwladys Probert is shot while standing next to Baydon at the annual procession.

Morse and Lewis investigate the disappearance of teenager Valerie Craven who vanished some six months previously while walking home from her exclusive girls school. Morse is the third detective assigned to the case and is convinced that the girl is by now dead. However, the girl's parents receive a note, purportedly from Valerie. Suspicion falls on a number of people, including fellow students, men named in her diary and some of the teachers at her school. When one of the teachers is killed, the missing persons enquiry becomes a murder investigation.

Lewis and Hathaway investigate the murder of Dean Greely. As the investigation continues, they discover that Greely and three other men had formed a club during their Oxford student days, the Sons of the Twice Born. Today, the men have little contact with one another and initially deny that their club existed. When a second member of the foursome is murdered, it becomes apparent the they have a secret, one from 30 years ago and that someone is out for revenge.

Lewis is less than pleased when he and DS Hathaway are assigned to protect Nicky Turnbull, a former criminal turned successful author. Turnbull had actually cheated two Oxford colleges in his computer scam and had received death threats. Turnbull is everything Lewis dislikes but he grits his teeth does the job. Turnbull is in Oxford to make a speech at the request of the Students Union but things take a serious turn when Jo Gilchrist, a student and a member of Turnbull's reception committee, is found strangled. Gilchrist wrote for a student newspaper and was about to expose a professor's exam scam. When Turnbull is shot in the courtyard of his hotel, Lewis realizes that the man's wife was his first girlfriend. He also learns that they were on the verge of getting a divorce.

Following a squash injury Robbie ends up in casualty where he meets the Donnelly family, whose school-girl daughter Beatrice was drugged and woke up in a field, having been raped. Evidence points to Oswald Cooper, who worked at her school and whose prescription drug matches the doping agent. However he has an alibi, a dinner party he gave for three former student friends, now all eminent men. Next day he is found garroted and castrated. Forensic evidence backs the view that he raped Beatrice and the alibi is proved to be false. A friend of his who is blackmailing the three guests is also garroted. It is clear that Oswald Cooper kept in with the great and the good by organizing scams and deceptions for them but his murderer was preserving a far more personal secret.

A student production of The Merchant of Venice takes real-life deadly turn when a cast member is killed using a prop knife. Apart from the jealous ensemble cast who can't even muster fake tears over the loss of their colleague, there is an audience of suspects to consider — a career con man, an egotistical television personality and a young man who just might have killed to get a part in the play. Lewis and Hathaway methodically try to make sense of the murderous plot, but before they do, another death occurs with a Shakespearean sensibility. As the final act is about to unfold, the case takes an intensely personal turn for Lewis, bringing back traumatic memories and invoking a lesson in mercy.

Steven Mullan is found dead in his bathtub, the scalding water indicative of the white-hot rage that motivated the murder. Lewis recognizes Mullan as having been recently released from prison after having tried to kill celebrity atheist Tom Rattenbury while driving drunk. Mullan's sentence may be over, but have the scars healed for the Rattenburys, especially daughter Jessica who remains in a wheelchair from the incident?

35 years after she supposedly drowned herself, rock star Esme Ford returns to Oxford to secretly re-establish her band Midnight Addiction with former members Richie, Mack and Franco. The secrecy extends to the band's reaction when an orphaned teenage boy is killed outside Richie's house. Then ex-roadie Bone and Richie's daughter's music tutor, who used to write the band's sleeve-notes, are also murdered. Midnight Addiction may well once have been the real thing but several people are definitely not what they first seem to be.

Stephen Black is found murdered on a tour bus visiting Crevecoeur Hall, where Hathaway's father was once estate manager so the sergeant knows the family. The murder weapon,a candlestick,is found in the family chapel and the priest once knew the victim,who was seen in the grounds a week earlier by Hopkiss the butler and Lord Mortmaigne's nephew Philip. Then the current estate manager dies,an apparent suicide,and Black seems to have known his wife Linda,who left him six years earlier. Whilst Lewis fears Hathaway's friendship with the family -especially daughter Scarlett,making a wealthy marriage to save family fortunes - makes him partial and gives him leave Black's colleague Frances Woodville tells Lewis that Black was after alleged buried treasure,dating from the Civil War, at Crevecoeur Hall. No treasure is unearthed but dark family secrets are,relating to the actual fate of Linda and the reason for Black's death.