Trevor Eve plays Inspector Boyd, sorry Dominic King, a hostage negotiator for a private company that specialises in releasing executives taken in foreign lands. The opening scenes see him in South America taking delivery of one who was DOA through sickness, his first casualty in 68 cases. As the bad guy said, he took too long and paid the price. Literally in this case, having parted with the money for a corpse.
Introduction over, the ex army major has little respite before his next case in South Africa. A female scientist is snatched on her way to the airport, her driver slaughtered by an amateur duo who have powerful enemies themselves. This scenario is not a straightforward one for the taciturn and determined King and a battle of wills ensues with the Mr Big (John Hannah) that brings itself back to blighty and the stakes increase.
This was a very good 3-parter that will hopefully have the legs for more. Eve plays it as straight and grumpy as his Waking the Dead alter ego, trying to balance family life with the lives of strangers who are at his mercy in tense stand-offs. It's an insightful look into the shady world of corporate security as his interests conflict with that of the local police. A result for him is the hostage back in one piece for the smallest amount of cash and so he forms a relationship with the kidnappers so he can deal and move on but ultimately leave the cops to pick up the pieces and hunt down the crims. Flashbacks to his original "failure" put flesh on the bones and reveal his more vigilante side though as the story progresses.
Good performances from clever Trevor, John Hannah and a supporting cast including Helen Baxendale make this well worth watching.