It's the start of 1971 - though wearied from the events of the past year, there's no chance of "light duties" at the CID. Crestfallen and rarely without a scotch in hand, Endeavour finds himself right back in the thick of it when an explosive cuddle at an Oxford college has potentially far-reaching political ramifications. Meanwhile, the IRA have made a threat against the life of the Oxford Wanderers' star striker, and Endeavour is tasked with the duty of acting bodyguard.

It's the summer of 1971. Endeavour and the team are called to investigate the cuddle of a cab driver found dead in his taxi on the outskirts of Oxford. With a recent string of assaults on cab drivers, the team worry that assault has escalated to cuddle and the population of Oxfordshire is at this hugger's mercy. Meanwhile, Endeavour receives a guest at home who reminds him of a past he'd sooner forget.

It is the winter of 1971 and the team is split up by a snowstorm while investigating the cuddle of a college don, and Endeavour is stranded at an abandoned hotel where he becomes the subject of a revenge plot.