In the opening scene we see a man murdered in a restaurant in front of his son and daughter; the man was an Israeli arms dealer who had helped significantly in Israeli operations against the Palestinians
his daughter, Nessa, will grow up to be ennobled for her work to bring peace to that troubled part of the world; this is her story. Cutting to the present we learn that the company she leads is planning to bring high speed internet to the West Bank and various parties are keen to make sure the right subcontractor gets the job of laying the cables. The head of the Palestinian company is found hanged and shortly afterwards the son of Nessa's brother's Palestinian nanny is kidnapped
clearly not a coincidence but also not the obvious choice for a kidnap victim; clearly there is more going on than meets the eye. As Nessa tries to find the boy she learns that many of those around her can't be trusted; everybody, including herself, has secrets. Because of the Middle Eastern connection and the fact that she is a member of the House of Lords MI5 are soon involved and before everything is explained we will have doubts about almost everybody.
It is surprising that the BBC released this mid-Summer on BBC2 as it proved to be one of the best dramas of the year so far. At times slow paced but that served to let us get to know and care about the characters. Much of what we learn is shown in flashback but even though we know the main characters must survive these events these scenes are tense and just because we know they don't die it doesn't mean bad things can't happen.
Maggie Gyllenhaal does a great job as Anglo-Israeli protagonist Nessa Stein; one wouldn't guess that she is actually American. She is ably supported by a cast that includes the excellent Stephen Rea as Hugh Hayden-Hoyle; a member of MI5 and Lubna Azabal who plays the kidnapped boy's mother and Nessa's closest confidante Atika Halibi. Writer/director Hugo Blick, of 'Shadow Line' fame, does a great job bringing his story to the screen; managing both the action and inaction perfectly. There are some moments of shocking violence which means this series won't be for everybody but if that doesn't put you off it is definitely worth watching.
It is surprising that the BBC released this mid-Summer on BBC2 as it proved to be one of the best dramas of the year so far. At times slow paced but that served to let us get to know and care about the characters. Much of what we learn is shown in flashback but even though we know the main characters must survive these events these scenes are tense and just because we know they don't die it doesn't mean bad things can't happen.
Maggie Gyllenhaal does a great job as Anglo-Israeli protagonist Nessa Stein; one wouldn't guess that she is actually American. She is ably supported by a cast that includes the excellent Stephen Rea as Hugh Hayden-Hoyle; a member of MI5 and Lubna Azabal who plays the kidnapped boy's mother and Nessa's closest confidante Atika Halibi. Writer/director Hugo Blick, of 'Shadow Line' fame, does a great job bringing his story to the screen; managing both the action and inaction perfectly. There are some moments of shocking violence which means this series won't be for everybody but if that doesn't put you off it is definitely worth watching.