Foyle, a veteran detective is persuaded to remain on duty at home rather than join the troops at the front as World War II begins. But home is on the vulnerable southern English coast and the chaos, danger and venality of war seep into everyday events.

As they pose for the cover of a glossy magazine, the aristocratic Aird family appears to have the perfect life. But beneath the breeding lie dark secrets that will soon jeopardize their storybook world. Edmund Aird is the lord of Balnaird House, one of the most splendid estates in the Scottish Highlands. He and his American-born wife, Virginia, seem to have everything: wealth, beautiful children, and a thriving family business.

Silas Marner was a man who had everything, until he lost it all. Falsely accused of theft and driven out of his town, Silas starts life anew. One day, upon arriving home, he discovers a child asleep on the hearth.

In 18th century Bath, a girl bursting with freshness and passion for macabre Gothic novels experiences intrigue, adventure, and romance, espeically when the romantic Henry Tilney invites her to his ancestral home.

Adam Bede, an honest, hard-working carpenter, has his heart set on marrying his sweetheart, pretty dairymaid Hetty Sorrel. Hetty wants nothing to do with her boring life on the farm and she allows herself to be seduced by the heir to a local estate. She finds herself abandoned and pregnant from her ill-fated dalliance.

Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle works in the English town of Hastings. As World War II tears at the social fabric of this once quiet coastal community, Foyle investigates crimes the conflict has fostered on the home front.