An English family's complex lives are followed and picked up again after a ten-year hiatus in order to explore the effects of time.

When three armed men invade a quiet Glasgow home and demand audience with a person who does not live there, Alex Morrow investigates their apparent mistake, a situation that escalates as violent acts are committed against the hostages.

Moving to a tiny Scottish island a year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah are shattered when their surviving daughter claims they have mistaken her identity and that she is actually the twin they believed dead.

"Local police stations all over the Scottish Highlands are being threatened with closure. This presents the perfect opportunity for Detective Chief Inspector Blair, who would love nothing more than to get rid of Sergeant Hamish Macbeth. Blair suggests that Cyril Sessions, a keen young police officer, visit the town of Lochdubh to monitor exactly what Macbeth does every day. Macbeth hears about Blair's plan and is prepared to insure that Cyril returns...