2007 · 3 seasons · 46m · ★ 7.1
Looks can be deceiving. Peter Kingdom seems to have everything — a man of some standing in the seaside town of Market Shipborough, he dresses well and has all the trappings of success. Why, then, does he wander along the beach and stare out to sea for hours at a time? Despite Peter's thriving legal practice, he must deal with his dysfunctional family (which includes his unstable sister) and his grief over his missing half-brother and law partner, Simon.
Start from S1E1 · Episode 1
E12007
Peter Kingdom is slowly getting his life back on track after the disappearance of his brother six months earlier, but normality is upset when his sister Beatrice moves into his spare room after a spell in rehab. Peter looks into two cases; in one, two sons have returned for the execution of their mother's estate, and in the other, local man Sidney Snell wants to bring action against the local planning authority. As Peter sits down with a drink at the end of the episode, Simon's phone rings.
E22007
A woman arrives at the offices claiming her ex-employer has stolen her baby. Beatrice causes mayhem by shredding documents and sticking labels to everything. Peter has the call to Simon's phone traced, learning that it came from an anonymous international number. He has a heart-to-heart with Auriel as the locals prepare for the 127th annual Dyke Leaping Championships. Peter discovers Simon's driving licence is in the name of "Christopher Waller", a deceased client.
E32007
A father and his son come to Peter after their insurers refuse to pay when their fishing boat is destroyed in an explosion. Lyle investigates further, discovering that the father once served a prison sentence for insurance fraud. Beatrice meets a local artist, Alan, and joins his life class as the model. The council takes revenge on Snell after his many small plots of land prevent them from building anything. Peter meets Christopher Waller's parents when he finds out that Simon's bank account has been regularly paying out to them.
E42007
A girl's parents retain Peter to sue Cambridge University because she has not been offered a place. Peter visits his old tutor to investigate and learns that Simon contacted him for money shortly before he disappeared. Gloria is upset because it is a year since her husband died, and her son is picked up by the police for breaking windows in the town. Lyle assists Snell in a scheme to stop the gas company building on a piece of local grazing land. Beatrice uses Lyle to win back Alan, but on discovering that Alan has again been cheating on his sister Peter confronts him.
E52007
Peter takes on the case of a woman who wants to divorce her husband after discovering his transvestism, while Lyle agrees to represent a horse owner against Romany travellers, only to later take the travellers' side. During a lucid spell, Beatrice confronts Peter to find out what he knows about Simon's disappearance. A windfall allows Peter to pay off Simon's gambling debts, but upon doing so he is told that this will not be the end of the matter.
E62007
Peter learns Lyle intends to take a city job and hands him the case of an Auschwitz survivor who has received multiple eviction notices from the council. The man's story emotionally drains Lyle and when the eviction order is dropped he decides to stay. Beatrice decides to "bond" with Gloria as Peter meets the Wallers again and later discovers that someone else tried to pay off Simon's debts. A pregnant woman arrives at the office, revealing Simon is the father, and that it happened after his supposed death. Beatrice joins Peter on Simon's beach.
Picket Fences
1992·7.5
