Forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Ryan returns to Cambridge to take up a teaching assignment and to work for the police as required. In her first case, she has to deal with the death of a six year old girl find floating in a nearby river. The autopsy reveals that the child has suffered previous abuse, including cigarette burns and several broken ribs. Sam receives information from a prison inmate that implicates someone in a previous death and Sam suggests a radical step. In her personal life, Sam has to deal with her elderly mother who is showing signs of dementia and her sister Wyn with whom she has a strained relationship.

With the exhumation of a child that had died from abuse some years earlier, Sam is able to demonstrate that there are similarities between the deaths of the two children. There is also only one individual with a connection to both cases. When Sam's house is broken into, her personal safety is a risk but she pursue the case with her usual zeal.

When Mark James' decomposing body is found in an abandoned building, there is every indication that he was part of some occult ritual. An upside down cross was carved on his chest, his wrists were bound with ivy and he was strangled. All evidence points to his friend Sebastian Bird, a rich idler who allowed James to live in his house but who had also developed a expert knowledge of the occult before being sent down from Cambridge for having had an affair with a professor's wife. Sam Ryan's testy relationship with the police continues as she is having difficulty establishing a forensic link in the case and also for publicly criticizing the well-liked Police Surgeon, Dr. Richard Owen, for attending the crime scene without the proper protective clothing. Sam also has to deal with her rebellious nephew Ricky, who is constantly fighting with his mother and announces that he has left home to move in with her.

Sam continues her investigation into Mark James' murder. When another of Sebatian Bird's one-time friends is killed the police are ever more convinced of his guilt and grow increasingly frustrated at Sam's inability to provide them the evidence that they are sure is there. The solution lies in an old case and someone's desperate need for revenge.

Sam investigates the death of a gay man while in police custody. He had been arrested while drunk and was sharing a cell with another drunk, in for the night. The victim died from a blow to the head and was badly beaten post-mortem. DS Farmer is concerned that the assault may have been the work of some of her officers. Sam also meets up with Liam Slattery an old friend she has not seen for 20 years. Sam's sister however is convinced Liam was responsible for the death of their father years before.

Sam continues her investigation in the prisoner's death and believes the police are covering up. When a police constable whose wife reported was cracking up is found dead, the investigating officers themselves believe something is amiss. Sam continues to be harassed by someone unknown and has to call in the bomb squad when she receives a mysterious parcel and subsequently someone tries to run her off the road. Liam and Sam renew their relationship but she is faced with a difficult choice.

One of Sam Ryan's students has a problem and seeks some personal advice. She and her family immigrated from Vietnam during the boat people exodus and her father wants her to enter a marriage he's arranged for her. She's worried that her husband to be will realize she is not a virgin and Sam counsels her that honesty is always the best policy, but in this case it drives the prospective groom to violence. When the family's restaurant is burned out, the police find a badly burned body. On the home front, Sam continues to bicker with her sister Wyn about whether their mother should be placed in a home and the bitterness over their father's death continues to divide them.

DI Adams and DC Cox's personal relationship is now affecting their work, leading Cox to request a transfer. With the burned body now identified through dental records, the police have a suspect. However, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and the police are concerned that he may lash out. When the police do finally locate him, a member of the team is killed.

Boxer Kevin Sharma dies from blows received in the ring, but pathologist Sam Ryan determines that he has a brain injury dating from sometime after his last bout two months ago. One of the governors of the boxing board, retired police Superintendent Jack Reeve, is concerned that it will reflect badly on them. Reeve is also trying to cancel one-time trainer Terence Cross' license after he is the victim of a hit and run accident that leaves him a quadriplegic. A new Detective Superintendent, Peter Ross, is now in charge and Sam and he knew each other many years previously. Trevor finds himself alone after his wife leaves him. Sam and her sister Wyn bury their mother

The investigation continues and a boxing trainer apparently commits suicide. Sam isn't convinced however and with the assistance of a ballistics expert, obtains the evidence to prove the suicide was actually murder. She also learns the reason for Kevin Sharma getting into a bare-knuckles fight and now suspects that Terence Cross' hit and run may not have been an accident. Sam's sister Wyn continues to have difficulty coping following the death of their mother.

Stuart Evans is 40 years old and in the advanced stages of AIDS. When he dies the night after his birthday party no one thinks anything of it but his parents donate his remains to scientific study. When Sam and Trevor start an examination of the remains, they notice needle marks and suspect his death may not have been straightforward. Their suspicions are confirmed when the toxicology reports indicate an extremely high level of morphine. Mark Tate is also an AIDS sufferer who has been told that he will soon go blind. He too dies suddenly and when the police learn that he and Evans had the same physician, they begin to suspect doctor-assisted suicide.

As Sam continues her forensic investigation into the two deaths, the police make an arrest but soon realize they have the wrong person in custody when a crucial piece of evidence is uncovered. Sam discovers the true identity of the person behind the deaths but rather than tell the police, she decides to let him to turn himself in. Unfortunately, this leads to a tragic result. In her personal life, Sam and Peter Ross renew their long-ago romance.

Helen Mathews is found strangled on the street. In the course of the investigation, the police learn that she was having an affair with Alan White, a flying instructor working for her husband Michael. From the evidence, it appears that she was about to leave her husband and move to Canada. The police uncover a similar case from several years earlier with a striking resemblance to this case and are convinced that the two must be connected. Friction again develops between Sam Ryan and the police when her forensic analysis demonstrates that the two cases have no connection whatsoever. Sam continues to fret over her decisions in her last case and her personal relationship with Peter Ross reaches a breaking point.

With a second murder on their hands, the police make an arrest in the case. Sam however uncovers some very peculiar bruising on both victims that provides the police with the evidence they need to identify the person responsible. Sam's life is put at risk however when the murderer threatens her. Wyn Ryan, who has been living with Sam since their mother's death, has found a job and is now looking to move on. Sam and Peter continue to struggle with their relationship but are determined to make a go of it.

When 72-year old Millicent Lockwood is found brutally beaten to death in a local park, the police immediately focus on a local who was seen arguing with her a short time earlier. The autopsy reveals little evidence but Sam Ryan once again refuses to make the evidence they do have fit the suspect, which leads to an inevitable clash with the police. She also sees two youths, Kelvin Price and Ben Quayle, act out part of the murder. The police however are pursuing other lines of inquiry and don't have the time, nor the inclination, to pursue Sam's theories. She then sets off on her own investigation.

Convinced that Kelvin and Ben are the murderers, Sam Ryan pursues her own investigation. She is also concerned that one of the boys may do himself harm after a third boy, who was only peripherally involved, hangs himself. The police are concerned that her involvement may actually taint some of the evidence they have and an angry DCI Peter Ross informs her that he has filed a formal complaint with the Coroner and the Chief Constable over her conduct. This obviously affects their professional and personal relationship.

Sam is shaken when she has to look into the death of a very dear friend, Dr. Annabelle Evans, a Cambridge professor. She was found in her home, badly beaten in what appears to be a botched burglary attempt. The police immediately focus on the husband as the likely killer but Sam suspects that an altercation at a local restaurant during the May Ball, where a waiter spilled wine on Annabelle and was fired on the spot, may provide another suspect. Sam is also intrigued by the relationship some of her students may have had with Annabelle, particularly when she learns her friend may have had a lover. In her personal life, Sam has moved on. Her sister Wyn has relocated to Ireland and Peter Ross has also been transferred. She does however run into an old friend who also happens to be an acquaintance of her business partner Trevor.

As Sam, et al continue to look into Annabelle's violent murder, another woman is similarly assaulted.

Gemma Boyd, an attractive 17-yr old, is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Although the cause of death was a broken neck, there is little to indicate whether she fell or was pushed. She was found in a vacant house that her estate agent mother and step-father were selling. The autopsy reveals that Gemma had already had a child and was pregnant. The police think that Gemma's boyfriend is their man but when someone else is revealed as the father in the latest pregnancy, Sam thinks there is a far more complex set of relationships at play. Sam's sister Wyn visits from Ireland with big news: she is going to get married. Sam's relationship with James however takes an unfortunate turn and seems to come to an end.

The 2 nd part of A Fallen Idol. A 17 year old attractive teen was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in an empty house for sale. Family dynamics and a boyfriend are the focus here. Meanwhile the Pathologist makes a decision about her boyfriend.

Sam Ryan looks into the death of Maggie Collins who died of a heroin overdose. Sadly, her body wasn't discovered for several days and in that time, her infant daughter died of dehydration. Soon after Maggie's death Stephen Jackson, a small-time dealer and addict, is killed in an explosion in his home. The autopsy reveals that both of them died of overdoses from the same batch of heroin and Sam begins to doubt that their deaths were accidental. When another small-time dealer is killed, the police think they have either vigilantes or a turf war on their hands. What they have is something far more complex that involves one of their own.

Are the deaths linked to a drug war or to vigilantes?

When Philip Nelson is killed in a farm accident, the pathologists conclude they have a straightforward case of man vs. machine and the machine won. Sam makes an error however and soon finds evidence that points to murder. The police suspect his handyman, all the more so when they discover he was having an affair with Nelson's wife. When the murders continue however, Sam uncovers evidence that connect at least some of the men to events in Northern Ireland when they served in the army together many years before. Sam is more than a little surprised when Charlie, an old friend, sounds her out about taking up a new Chair in Forensic Pathology at London University. DI Michael Connor and his wife take a stab at a reconciliation but he finds it difficult to forgive her infidelity and realizes he has feelings for Sam.

Sam looks for connections between Ian Neal and a killing in Northern Ireland in 1985.

After a helicopter sends out a mayday and disappears in a storm en route to provide support to an off-shore oil rig, Sam is called upon to participate on the rescue team in case it turns into a recovery team.

After a helicopter sends out a mayday and disappears in a storm en route to provide support to an off-shore oil rig, Sam is called upon to participate on the rescue team in case it turns into a recovery team.

Sam Ryan takes on a gangland murder case to help builder Brian McNally, whom she believes to be innocent.

Following the death of murder suspect Brian McNally, Sam Ryan is approached by his daughter.

When a dozen people die in a cinema fire, Connor is in charge of the investigation. Sam Ryan is coming back to Cambridge.

Having learned that violent criminal Chris Caldwell may have been wrongly convicted for murder, Sam and DCI Michael Connor are eager to get at the truth.

When twin brothers Jake and Henry Davies are found dead in their home, the police initially suspect robbery as the elderly gentlemen were known to keep large sums of cash in the house. The autopsy reveals murder however and Sam determines that skin grafts both men have on their arms may have been a crude form of plastic surgery meant to cover tattoos of concentration camp numbers. Thinnking they are now dealing with a hate crime, the police focus on Carl Martin, a known race-hater. What they have however is a case of someone seeking revenge for the atrocities committed long ago.

The continuation of part one, sees Sam delve further into the WW2 atrocities and how it continues to affect those survivors today, as she helps with the investigation about the murder of the twin brothers.

When the naked body of a young woman is found in the snow at a Norwegian ski resort, Sam Ryan is asked to represent the Townsend family whose daughter Ruth disappeared there several weeks before. The autopsy however reveals that it is in fact the body of Louise Hutton who had vanished there some 15 years previously. When Ruth's body is subsequently found, it appears both girls were strangled in a similar fashion. The police focus their enquiries on Ruth's boyfriend and on Henry Hutton, Louise's uncle while Sam seeks the advice of a university colleague and tries to draw a profile of the serial killer.

Sam learns more about the personality type that has now killed 3 girls.

Sam Ryan is under great stress when she learns that she may have a tumor. As a result, she starts to question her judgment when she misses a possible explanation in determining the time of death in the case of Lloyd Dupen's wife, an apparent suicide. She's not convinced however that everything is above board and agrees to undertake a second autopsy at the request of the dead woman's mother. She's also asked by Bishop Craig to perform an autopsy on the remains of Sister Constance, a beatified nun who died forty years ago and is under consideration for canonization. The results of the autopsy will have an impact on the religious order as well as many of those in the community who see the commercial advantages of having a local saint.

Sam's medical condition seems to worsen as rumours fly about her losing her job due to bad judgement.

Sam Ryan assists the police in the investigation of a multi-vehicle collision that results in the death of 11 people. She is joined by two new colleagues: Dr. Leo Dalton, an experienced pathologist from Sheffield and Dr. Harry Cunningham. As they try to determine the causes of the accident, they find a severed arm that does not belong to any of the victims. They also have to deal with DCI Carol Deacon whose role in the investigation is not quite clear to them. Sam and Leo have somewhat different approaches to their job, particularly in how they deal with the police. Harry performs his first autopsy on a child.

The mystery of the severed arm is partly solved when the police discover a body floating in the river with a missing arm. The pathologists continue their investigation with little help from the police and DCI Deacon in particular. When she reveals to Tom that two of the men in the accident were undercover policemen, he realizes that Sam was correct and that he is being manipulated. The police refuse to tell them what is going on and Sam's interference has serious consequences. Harry continues to try and find a balance between detachment and compassion as one of the survivors of the crash seeks his assistance.

The police investigate an apparent break-in that results in the death of Derek Irons, his wife and youngest daughter. Two older children survived the attack but one is in serious condition and in a coma. Irons was a ruthless businessman who targeted his rivals' customers resulting in regular confrontations. Irons was stabbed but his wife and daughter were shot. Sam is reunited with an old friend from Northern Ireland, Det. Supt. Tony Ashton who is the senior investigative officer on the case. Harry assists the police with the death of an old woman who is believed to have fallen down a staircase. His post-mortem reveals evidence that is not consistent with a fall.

The police continue their investigation into the deaths of several members of the Irons family but based on the forensic evidence, they now believe he may have been killed elsewhere and then transported to his home. When one of Irons' two surviving children is killed, they look to his circle of friends and family for a possible motive. Thanks to Harry's information, the police investigate further into the death of an elderly woman who supposedly fell down the stairs in her home. Supt. Tony Ashton clearly wants to renew his friendship with Sam but she isn't so sure. Leo's home life is in turmoil and it's been affecting his work.

When a decomposed body is found hidden in the wall of an old factory building, Sam Ryan concludes he was murdered. He is eventually identified by his ex-girlfriend Selina Thomson as Marcus Saul, who had simply disappeared one day some seven years earlier. There has also been a break-in on campus and drugs have been stolen. The Dean asks Leo Dalton to speak to some of the students on the issue, but he's not quite sure what he can do.

With the death of a student from a drug overdose, the university must face the wrath of the girl's father, a major benefactor. The autopsy reveals that not only had she taken drugs but also that she had sexual relations with three different men in the previous 48 hours. Although the police have a suspect in the murder of Marcus Saul, new information suggests that the identity of the killer may lie in a completely different direction.

The police may have a serial killer on their hands when they locate a second body in a site where the first victim was found several months before. The body was trussed up in the same way and had an identical burn mark on his back. There is no apparent link between the first victim, student Michael Haughty, and the second Jason Villers, a probationer at the police college. While the police find evidence that may solve the Otty case, they have nothing on the Villers murder. In a separate case, Harry is approached by the wife of an old university friend who asks him to perform a post-mortem on her husband who died in a fall. Harry finds that his old friend was injecting himself regularly. Leo's family is visiting for a few days but he's constantly being called into work.

When a second police probationer dies at the police college, Sam concludes that they may be dealing with a copycat murder rather than a serial killer. The investigating officer thinks that a fellow probationer may have been responsible for the original murder but the college's commandant, whose son is a student there and soon to be a police constable, would like the reputation of the college protected and the whole thing swept under the carpet. Harry learns that his late friend's wife was prescribing the drugs he was taking and is not quite sure what to do with the information. Leo's relationship with his wife and daughter is stretched thin when he spends most of his time at work and they are left on their own.

In a suspected terrorist attack on a London hotel a government minister is killed. As Sam and the team investigate the case, old friends and government officials soon muddy the water.

Refer to part 1, as this is the continuing story of that.

Sam comes under intense scrutiny during an official inquiry into the deaths of two brothers while they were in prison. Her findings are soon challenged by her colleague, Leo Dalton, who is brought in to perform a second autopsy. Meanwhile, a series of murders that are taking place cast suspicion on a recently released ex-convict. He served years in prison after being convicted of killing his wife; the evidence against him was given by Sam during one of her very first cases. During his time in prison, however, he continued to deny his guilt. Sam begins to believe that someone is stalking her, while the police have trouble locating the ex-convict.

Sam and Leo, colleague Pathologists, are on opposing sides of a high-profile court case.

A John Doe is found months after his death; an attractive female agent for a championship athlete is believed to have jumped to her death from a rooftop. Forensic pathologists must sort out time and methods of death.

Sam Ryan steals a toothbrush to get the DNA of the father of the unborn child of a suspected suicide. Tangled relationships between an athlete and his family are amplified when his body is found hanging in her apartment. Police arrest the athlete's brother-in-law after an anonymous tip. Harry's attempts at determining time of death by the growth of maggots give a wrong answer.

Questions about a celebrated pathologist's accuracy in past cases leads to several exhumations; Sam Ryan is assigned to reexamine the remains. One particularly brutal murder conviction depends on the time of death being precise. Two crucial witnesses are found: one on her deathbed, anxious to get something off her chest, and the other dead behind a remodeled wall.

Sam is determined to find out how Dr. Sachs is able to pinpoint time of death so precisely, even if it means several convictions are overturned. A mother changes her plea to guilty, but Leo is still not satisfied that they have the truth. A loving daughter draws a picture for her prisoner dad that brings a confession. Dr. Sachs is found to have violated professional ethics, but what will serve the cause of justice best?

The team is called out to Northern Ireland to investigate the bodies of two men killed by paramilitaries twenty years ago. For Sam, it is a case that is soon to turn personal.

The Lyell Center team solve more than just the original case that took them to Northern Ireland. Professor Ryan makes peace with her past and takes control of her future.

Stranded in the flooded care home, Jack and Simone fight to keep the residents alive - but Nikki discovers that they may be trapped inside with the killer.

Sam Ryan recruits the Lyell team to investigate the assassination of the health secretary, but Nikki is unsure whether Sam knows more than she's letting on.

DNA evidence linked to the health secretary's assassination forces Nikki to face her past in the present. As her investigation progresses, Nikki realises that its consequences will affect her, and her profession, forever.

When a woman confesses to murdering her husband, the Lyell team must determine if all is as it seems. Meanwhile, Simone is shocked to be reunited with a detective from her childhood and struggles to untangle her past.

A secret from his father propels Jack to Belfast. Meanwhile, Simone and Nikki investigate the mystery of a burned body. As familial secrets come to the surface, Jack faces tragedy head on.

The death of an investigative journalist throws the spotlight onto Sam Ryan. Nikki begins to realise that the implications of her discoveries will challenge the principles of forensic science.

Events lead Nikki to conclude that getting the truth will put the Lyell team and everything they love in danger.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Ryan returns to Cambridge to take up a teaching assignment and to work for the police as required. In her first case, she has to deal with the death of a six year old girl find floating in a nearby river. The autopsy reveals that the child has suffered previous abuse, including cigarette burns and several broken ribs. Sam receives information from a prison inmate that implicates someone in a previous death and Sam suggests a radical step. In her personal life, Sam has to deal with her elderly mother who is showing signs of dementia and her sister Wyn with whom she has a strained relationship.

Sam continues her investigation in the prisoner's death and believes the police are covering up. When a police constable whose wife reported was cracking up is found dead, the investigating officers themselves believe something is amiss. Sam continues to be harassed by someone unknown and has to call in the bomb squad when she receives a mysterious parcel and subsequently someone tries to run her off the road. Liam and Sam renew their relationship but she is faced with a difficult choice.

One of Sam Ryan's students has a problem and seeks some personal advice. She and her family immigrated from Vietnam during the boat people exodus and her father wants her to enter a marriage he's arranged for her. She's worried that her husband to be will realize she is not a virgin and Sam counsels her that honesty is always the best policy, but in this case it drives the prospective groom to violence. When the family's restaurant is burned out, the police find a badly burned body. On the home front, Sam continues to bicker with her sister Wyn about whether their mother should be placed in a home and the bitterness over their father's death continues to divide them.

DI Adams and DC Cox's personal relationship is now affecting their work, leading Cox to request a transfer. With the burned body now identified through dental records, the police have a suspect. However, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and the police are concerned that he may lash out. When the police do finally locate him, a member of the team is killed.

Boxer Kevin Sharma dies from blows received in the ring, but pathologist Sam Ryan determines that he has a brain injury dating from sometime after his last bout two months ago. One of the governors of the boxing board, retired police Superintendent Jack Reeve, is concerned that it will reflect badly on them. Reeve is also trying to cancel one-time trainer Terence Cross' license after he is the victim of a hit and run accident that leaves him a quadriplegic. A new Detective Superintendent, Peter Ross, is now in charge and Sam and he knew each other many years previously. Trevor finds himself alone after his wife leaves him. Sam and her sister Wyn bury their mother

The investigation continues and a boxing trainer apparently commits suicide. Sam isn't convinced however and with the assistance of a ballistics expert, obtains the evidence to prove the suicide was actually murder. She also learns the reason for Kevin Sharma getting into a bare-knuckles fight and now suspects that Terence Cross' hit and run may not have been an accident. Sam's sister Wyn continues to have difficulty coping following the death of their mother.

As Sam, et al continue to look into Annabelle's violent murder, another woman is similarly assaulted.

The continuation of part one, sees Sam delve further into the WW2 atrocities and how it continues to affect those survivors today, as she helps with the investigation about the murder of the twin brothers.

With the exhumation of a child that had died from abuse some years earlier, Sam is able to demonstrate that there are similarities between the deaths of the two children. There is also only one individual with a connection to both cases. When Sam's house is broken into, her personal safety is a risk but she pursue the case with her usual zeal.

Sam Ryan takes on a gangland murder case to help builder Brian McNally, whom she believes to be innocent.