Cara Chase

An endearing outlier, Brian lives alone in a Welsh valley, inventing oddball contraptions that seldom work. After finding a discarded mannequin head, Brian gets an idea. Three days, a washing machine, and sundry spare parts later, he’s invented Charles, an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and proves a charming, cheeky companion. Before long, however, Charles also develops autonomy. Intrigued by the wider world — or whatever lies beyond the cottage where Brian has hidden him away — Charles craves adventure.

In 1933, Welsh journalist Gareth Jones travels to Ukraine, where he experiences the horrors of a famine. Everywhere he goes he meets henchmen of the Soviet secret service who are determined to prevent news about the catastrophe from getting out. Stalin’s forced collectivisation of agriculture has resulted in misery and ruin—the policy is tantamount to mass murder.

Stuttgart, 1942: Nazis have cleared Jewish communities from towns and Villages. Two German-born Jewish children flee Nazis who have killed their family, escorted by Gisella, part of the Lebensborn, an SS Master Race program.

Stan is an ageing sheep farmer who's at odds with life and out of hope. During a meteor storm a mysterious female alien arrives on his farm, she appears to be lost. As they attempt to understand each other a bond is formed and Stan teaches Voyager about what it is to be human. Their fate and Stan's is sealed when the StarGirl confesses her real reason for visiting Earth.

When Mikey's parents discover he has failed his accountancy exams for the third time, they are concerned. When he falls in love with a girl from the Salvation Army, they are horrified. Fleeing from the disapproval of his parents and the Jewish community Mikey finds help from a sage with a six-foot beard.