This seven part BBC drama opens in Louisiana where British civil rights lawyer Maya Cobbina is trying to get a stay of execution for her client Rudy Jones. She is unsuccessful and leaves as he is taken to the execution chamber. As she drives away she is stopped and told that Rudy is still alive following a botched attempt to kill him. This doesn't necessarily mean that he is safe and the state is determined to try again at a later date. She returns to her family in London
not knowing that her husband. Nick Johnson, of twenty years isn't the man she thought he was. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that that he was an undercover police officer who had been tasked with investigating her when she was part of a civil rights group led by Michael Antwi; a man who died in police custody shortly afterwards. Maya is determined to get justice for Michael but others are determined that what happened that day will remain a secret. Back in the present she is offered the position of the next Director of Public Prosecution; a bit of a surprise given that she always worked for the defence but she uses it as an opportunity to reopen the Antwi case. Nick thinks his past in the police is long over but his handlers contact him again and demand that he stops his wife from doing anything that could expose the truth of what happened that day. As the series progresses Nick must decide where his loyalties lie as it becomes apparent that the people he is working for are very dangerous.
This was a solid series even if it did wear its heart on its sleeve a little too much; we were left in no doubt who we were meant to sympathise with. At times this could be a problem; the character of Maya was so self-righteous that it was hard to sympathise with her at times even though we know she is in the right! This was even true of her final plea for Rudy's life where she argues against the cruelty of execution by lethal injection; this seemed a bit too much like the writers telling us how they feel on the matter and grated even though I broadly agreed with the argument. Thankfully though these moments didn't spoil the story; this is largely down to the cast, especially Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Lester. These two made excellent leads do a fine job. There are plenty of tense moments throughout the series from the gruelling opening to the exciting finale. We do need to stretch our suspension of disbelief a fair bit at time; would such an outspoken and controversial lawyer as Maya really be made DPP and even though there have been real cases of undercover officers getting involved with people they were investigating it would take something to keep it a secret for twenty years of marriage. Overall though, despite its flaws, I found this to be a highly worthwhile series.
This was a solid series even if it did wear its heart on its sleeve a little too much; we were left in no doubt who we were meant to sympathise with. At times this could be a problem; the character of Maya was so self-righteous that it was hard to sympathise with her at times even though we know she is in the right! This was even true of her final plea for Rudy's life where she argues against the cruelty of execution by lethal injection; this seemed a bit too much like the writers telling us how they feel on the matter and grated even though I broadly agreed with the argument. Thankfully though these moments didn't spoil the story; this is largely down to the cast, especially Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Lester. These two made excellent leads do a fine job. There are plenty of tense moments throughout the series from the gruelling opening to the exciting finale. We do need to stretch our suspension of disbelief a fair bit at time; would such an outspoken and controversial lawyer as Maya really be made DPP and even though there have been real cases of undercover officers getting involved with people they were investigating it would take something to keep it a secret for twenty years of marriage. Overall though, despite its flaws, I found this to be a highly worthwhile series.