"On a June morning in 1859, the body of a young woman was found by the Oxford Canal. In the present day, recovering after an operation in hospital, Morse is visited by Adele Cecil (Judy Loe) and American scholar Millie Van Buren (Lisa Eichhorn) whose book on the murder becomes his preoccupation. Morse soon becomes convinced that the two boatmen publicly hanged for the murder of the respectably married Joanna Franks were the victims of a gross miscarriage of justice. Inspector Morse is joined by Adrian Kershaw (Matthew Finney), a young graduate police constable, who assists him in his investigations."--Container.