S1, E1: New contemporary detective series based on the novel by crime writer Ann Cleeves. DCI Vera Stanhope is obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons, and her most trusted and long-suffering colleague is DS Joe Ashworth - her right-hand man and surrogate son. In the first episode, Vera and Joe investigate after two beautiful young people are killed in the same manner - placed in water and garlanded with flowers. Vera knows that she must find the murderer before they strike again. Soon after arriving at the crime scenes, the detectives start to interview the friends and relatives of the victims. Sinister secrets are slowly unearthed as Vera and her team unpick the complex and dysfunctional relationships amongst a group of bird-watching friends. But as the friends' loyalty turns to betrayal, Vera gradually discovers the truth. Has a small act of teenage blackmail and an illicit affair involving one of the group driven someone to kill to preserve the status quo?