S01E01 Crossing the River
The story begins in 1942. The Japanese are threatening to invade and Gandhi is calling on the British to quit India. In Mayapore Hari Kumar comes under suspicion of subversion by Merrick, the District Superintendent...
The Jewel in the Crown
S01E02: The Bibighar Gardens
It is now August 1942. In Mayapore, Daphne and Hari draw closer together despite warnings from Ronald Merrick. Daphne and Hari quarrel and the divide between them is seemingly unbridgeable. On a night of rioting and protest Daphne has not returned home. Merrick searches for her with more than official zeal. Meanwhile Daphne finds herself drawn toward the darkness of the Bibighar Gardens and its ghosts.
Overview
A sweeping drama about the ruling and ruled classes of World War II India, the story begins with an unjust arrest for rape. The consequences of this arrest echo throughout the series with questions of identity and personal responsibility being explored against a background of war and personal intrigue.
Episodes
S01E02 The Bibighar Gardens
It is now August 1942. In Mayapore, Daphne and Hari draw closer together despite warnings from Ronald Merrick. Daphne and Hari quarrel and the divide between them is seemingly unbridgeable. On a night of rioting...
S01E03 Questions of Loyalty
Hari, still keeping his promise of silence, remains in prison. Daphne has been prevented from seeing him. Regardless of the scandal and the risks, Daphne is determined to give birth to the child she believes...
S01E04 Incidents at a Wedding
The hasty arrangements for Susan and Teddy's wedding are threatened, but Ronald Merrick provides a solution. The Layton family gathers in Mirat as guests of its ruler, the Nawab, who may even attend the wedding....
S01E05 The Regimental Silver
Susan and Teddy's wedding day is a happy one, except for the strange attack on the car taking Ronald Merrick and Teddy to the church. Merrick apologises to Sarah and explains the connections between Mirat...
S01E06 Ordeal by Fire
In Pankot, Sarah has to break the news of Teddy's death to Susan. Later they learn together of a brave attempt to save his life. Sarah embarks on a journey to bring comfort to a...
S01E07 Daughters of the Regiment
While visiting the wounded Ronald Merrick in Calcutta, Sarah meets Jimmy Clark who later challenges many of the values by which she lives. In Pankot another daughter of the regiment confesses her own act of...
S01E08 The Day of the Scorpion
Sarah returns to Pankot to find her sister Susan becoming increasingly agitated by her new baby. Merrick too is close to madness, but who will snap first?
S01E09 The Towers of Silence
Susan's baby has been rescued from the ring of fire that nearly engulfed him, but how did that awful moment leave Susan? Barbie embarks on a generous mission but is turned back by an appalling...
S01E10 An Evening at the Maharanee's
It is 1945. Colonel Layton has been released from prison camp. Sarah visits Barbie in hospital then goes to Bombay to welcome him home. Also in Bombay, Sergeant Guy Perron of Military Intelligence is quickly...
S01E11 Travelling Companions
On 6th August 1945 Barbie lies in hospital in Rampur. Sarah meets Guy in Bombay, after which she and her father travel to Pankot for his home-coming. There are other travellers who make the journey...
S01E12 The Moghul Room
Merrick, having blackmailed an orderly to gain access to Susan's records, is recalled to Delhi at the end of the war. Guy and Sarah find that their friendship with Hari is drawing them together.
S01E13 Pandora's Box
In August 1947 Guy Perron returns to India on the eve of independence to observe the last days of British rule. He discovers that Merrick had married Susan but was subsequently killed in a riding...
S01E14 The Division of the Spoils
Guy discovers the horrific details of Merricks death. He travels to Ranpur for the independence celebrations, but the train is besieged and Ahmed Kasim and other Muslims are killed.
Cast
Geraldine James
Sarah Layton
Art Malik
Hari Kumar
Tim Pigott-Smith
Ronald Merrick
Wendy Morgan
Susan Layton
Judy Parfitt
Mildred Layton
Rosemary Leach
Aunt Fenny
Peggy Ashcroft
Barbie Batchelor
Geoffrey Beevers
Kevin Coley
Eric Porter
Dimitri Bronowsky
Nicholas Le Prevost
Nigel Rowan
Derrick Branche
Ahmed Kasim
Charles Dance
Guy Perron
