Lesley McGuire

An abbess, visionary, naturalist, playwright and composer, Hildegard of Bingen (played by Patricia Routledge) was a remarkable woman of the Middle Ages, her legacy comprising some of the most radiant accounts of religious experience ever.

In a remote village on the Suffolk Coast, Frank Perry (Ross Kemp) waits for his past to catch up with him. Previously a spy for MI6 working on Iranian chemical and biological weapons production, his reports led to the deaths of many Iranian scientists while also undermining the progress of their production. Now the Iranians have found out he was responsible and have sent their best assassin to kill him. A team of "protectors" move in around Perry, disrupting the local community who, fearing for their lives, turn against him.

In 1920s Ireland, an elderly couple reside over a tired country estate. Living with them are their high-spirited niece, their Oxford student nephew, and married house guests, who are trying to cover up that they are presently homeless. The niece enjoys romantic frolics with a soldier and a hidden guerrilla fighter. All of the principals are thrown into turmoil when one more guest arrives with considerable wit and unwanted advice.