Charles Sturridge

A reader tells a sad story to a listener, who only knocks in response.

When his young daughter disappears, her father refuses to accept that she is dead and sets out on a journey to find her.

Stephen Poliakoff's parody of the spy-thriller genre. A Russian diplomat becomes convinced that he is at the centre of a Foreign Office plot.

Parallel stories: 18th century Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea; 20th century Gould is obsessed with restoring it.