Inspector Morse is back in Oxford when a body is found in the canal and the only clue to its identity points to a connection with one of the colleges.

Following the finale of Season three, Oxford's finest are picking up the pieces of their personal and professional lives. DC Endeavour Morse awaits the result of his Sergeant's Exam, while DI Fred Thursday and his wife Win struggle to cope with their children flying the nest. With sam gone to the Army and the traumatized Joan gone off to who knows where, there are even greater challenges still to face.

As 1968 dawns, a year of change promises to disrupt the private and professional lives of Endeavour Morse and his colleagues. Endeavour's recent promotion leads him to reluctantly mentor new recruit Fancy, while Thursday is beginning to think about life after the police. But in Oxford, crime never sleeps, and the team continues to be challenged by mysterious and intriguing cases of murder, greed, and deception. Meanwhile, the rise of organized crime...

The continuing stories of rookie Constable Morse.

Last seen languishing in a prison cell and framed for a crime he didn't commit, Endeavour is compelled to return to duty when a young woman's baffling murder requires his singularly cerebral mind to solve.