在这部探长薇拉 第四季犯罪/悬疑片中,The indomitable DCI Vera Stanhope, assisted by her trusted colleague, DS Joe Ashworth, steps up for another series of challenging cases. She investigates the mysterious death of a pensioner on a busy commuter train (On Harbour Street), unearths a thirty year mystery after a brutal murder on the sands of a seaside resort (Protected), unpicks the tragic last months of a failed novelist gunned down on a remote Northumberland moor (The Deer Hunters), and delves into the tangled life of a businessman found floating in the water under the Gateshead Millennium Bridge (Death of a Family Man). Inspired by the novels written by renowned crime writer Ann Cleeves, and filmed against a backdrop of outstanding Northumberland landscapes and atmospheric production, each enthralling story is enhanced by the captivating performance of Brenda Blethyn as this shambolic yet brilliant detective.
Joe and his little girl Jessie are on a train when Jessie notices that another passenger, elderly Margaret Kraszewski, has been killed with a single stab wound. Vera visits the coastal town of Mardle, where Margaret lodged with singer Kate Darrow, her two children and boyfriend Stuart. They all praise Margaret as an almost saintly woman and are amazed that anybody would want to kill her. Margaret volunteered at a women's hostel and when Dee, an alcoholic prostitute who lived there, is also found dead Vera suspects a connection, especially as Margaret wanted to report something to the police just before she died. Pub landlady Valerie Furlow tells Vera that Margaret and Dee were good friends who once lived together in the same house on Harbour Street. She believes that Margaret's Polish husband was violent to her and, as he disappeared suddenly thirty years ago, Vera wonders if he was murdered. The chief beneficiary from Margaret's will proves to be Dee and Vera learns that years ago Dee was a rape victim whom certain people set out to avenge. Now another rape victim provides a clue to Margaret's killer.
