A board member of a family-owned brewery dies suspiciously; Morse learns that some employees and family members stand to gain from this death.

Family-owned Radford Brewery is the subject of a hostile takeover by a multi-national corporation. When a board member dies suspiciously, Inspector Morse - played impeccably by the late John Thaw - learns that some employees and family members stand to gain from this death. After Stephen Radford discovers some creative bookkeeping, he is murdered.