Alex Keir is distraught when his wife Alison goes missing, but Wycliffe is sceptical of his grief, until a ransome note is found. The case of apparent kidnapping then takes a dramatic turn when Mrs Keir is found dead and smelling of alcohol at the wheel of a crashed car.

• W.J. Burley

• Paul Bettany
• David Bamber
• David Schofield