Morse investigates the apparent suicide of a terminally ill Oxford don and finds he has a personal connection with the family. As the case develops, Lewis worries that Morse's professionalism is being undermined.

Business tycoon Sir John Balcombe is found murdered at his country house, Balcombe Castle, with no signs of a break-in. As a result, the dead man's wife and sons come under suspicion. Morse finds that the family is strangely untroubled, and several of his prime suspects have flawed characters and dark secrets - and then the Balcombe family suffers another killing. Meanwhile, Morse has to cope with journalists who try to turn his own personality into a story - and he also suffers from an unhelpful Chief Superintendant, covering for the station's usual boss, who puts pressure on him to crack the case in a hurry. In the end, though, Morse is vindicated and his various tormentors get their comeuppance.

The strange death of an Englishwoman abroad takes Morse and Lewis to the city of Verona in northern Italy. Morse takes delight in open-air opera in the Roman amphitheatre and falls under the spell of Nicole Burgess, a glamorous opera singer. But Lewis is home-sick.

A convicted fraudster, one of three former business partners at an open prison, dies following an assault. Morse has to investigate the death while dealing with a brash subordinate and trying to avoid offending the prison authorities.

A new drug developed to combat senility is ironically being distributed to teens at all-night parties and driving some to suicide.