Set against the backdrop of Bath, a city steeped in 3,000 years of history, Gillian and her team – Dr Ben Akomfrah (forensic, objective), Professor Gregory Parton (encyclopaedic but terminally louche) and eager young post-grad intern Viv Davis – are brought in under a variety of imperatives to extract bodies, books, weapons and all manner of artefacts which lead them into an investigation of the past that will unlock dangers and mysteries in the present.

From the excavation of murdered 18th century slaves to the possible discovery of the True Cross, each episode is a window on a period of history but more importantly a reflection on how we live now.

Running through it all is a greater puzzle that Gillian, a fiery Celt, keeps to herself for fear of ridicule – the hunt for the greatest treasure in the history of Man, a hunt that drove her brilliant mother insane, a hunt that pits her wits against her academic nemesis, the arrogant, urbane TV historian Daniel Mastif, and that will culminate at the end of series one in a desperate race for glory which may destroy her in the process.