A spate of computer thefts from government offices, a possible suicide under the wheels of a high-speed train, an absconded lifer on the loose, and a grisly trove of human bones in a garden all conspire to keep Davies on the job during a long Easter weekend.

Our story begins at the end of Sharpe's Challenge. Sharpe and Harper are en route to Madras when they encounter a baggage train from the East India Company traveling through hostile territory. Chitu, a legendary bandit leader in control of the area, strikes fear in the members of the party. When an attack occurs Sharpe takes control of the situation, leading the group 300 miles through enemy territory and training the disorganized, rag-tag group to be proper soldiers. Despite all these responsibilities, Sharpe still manages to find time for a little romance...

Sean Bean is back as the swashbuckling hero in Sharpe's Challenge, an action packed mini-series to be shot on location in Rajasthan, India. Two years after the Duke of Wellington crushes Napoleon at Waterloo, dispatches from India tell of a local Maharaja, Khande Rao, who is threatening British interests there. Wellington sends Sharpe to investigate on what turns out to be his most dangerous mission to date. When a beautiful general's daughter is kidnapped by the Indian warlord, the tension mounts, leaving Sharpe no option but to pursue the enemy right into its deadly lair. Deep in the heart of enemy territory he also has to keep at bay the beautiful but scheming Regent, Madhuvanthi, who is out to seduce him. The fate of an Empire and the life of a General's daughter lie in one man's hands...

After painter Michael 'Mike' Sheldrake's failed suicide attempt, house-mate and life-long best friend Peter Tremaine, an antiques shop owner, reminisces their common past, like Mike does in therapy. It started at the beach, when scrubby, scared Mikey became the dependent protégé of forceful Pete, both doted by Pete's dad, a wealthy lawyer. Afterwards Mike moves out to marry Kate. Pete accepts to be best man, but overdoes that, 'arranging' to get stuck in the honeymoon hotel he paid for. Drama from their boarding school childhood intertwines with tragedy for the mates, Kate and vindictive former police detective Miller.

Portsmouth, 1794. Under thundery skies and in lashing rain, 17-year-old midshipman Horatio Hornblower takes the first tentative steps of his naval career, but a feud with a shipmate causes complications.

Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh has been on leave following the death on duty of a member of his team, DS Sarah Hillier. His superiors order him back to work to investigate the murder of the Director of the Steen Clinic, which specializes in psychiatric cases.

Brought to the station after nicking some sweets, a waifish Eastern European girl refuses to give even her name. What starts out as a simple case of shoplifting turns into apparent murder, however, after Davies finds the girl's mother strangled. The trail leads to some surprising suspects from a video matchmaking service.

Dangerous Davies investigates the death of Geoff Fallon, a stock car driver who was killed during a race at the local stadium when his car exploded due to a leaky fuel line. There seemed to be a considerable animosity with his brother, also a stock car driver, but it turns that Fallon was convicted of killing a child with his car some years previously and the dead child's older brother was working at the stadium on the night in question. When a second person is killed, Davies determines that the case is far more complex than originally thought. Meanwhile, all of the officers at the local station are under investigation when information is leaked to the press.

Assigned by King Stephen to dispose of 94 hanged rebels, Cadfael discovers the body of a murdered man among the corpses and given just four days to solve the crime.

Liliwin is a poor acrobat hired to entertain at an Aurifaber wedding. But when he is dismissed and the master of the house is found unconscious and robbed, Cadfael must find the real thief before the mob takes vengeance.