Sydney, a poker-faced professional gambler plays guardian angel to unlucky John and his girlfriend. When John's and his bride's honeymoon night leads to a disastrous hostage situation, the gambler takes care of it as usual. But when a slick casino pro threatens to reveal a secret from Sydney's past, Sydney decides to hedge his bets and not leave anything to chance.

Two convicts break out of Mississippi State Penitentiary in 1936 to join a third on a long spree of bank robbing. The youngest of the gang falls in love with a girl he has met at their hideout. Their last robbery in Yazoo City goes bad and all three become notorious men, who are wanted by the law.

While celebrations are taking place at the new college building at Oxford, Morse and Lewis look into the murder of a freelance journalist, who was working on an article about college benefactor Bayden.

Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison is promoted to Detective Superintendent. Includes three 2-hour episodes: The Lost Child, Inner Circles, and The Scent Of Darkness.