It's June 1945 and Detective Chief Superintendent Foyle is still on duty as they are unable to find a replacement for him. He's approached by Brigadier Timothy Wilson, his former commanding officer from his own military service in World War I, who is looking for a Russian POW, Ivan Spiakov, who has escaped and is believed to have been seen in the Hastings area.
Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940 - which may seem a strangely remote period in which to place a new detective, but the setting turns out to be a means of adding moral and dramatic depth to the storylines.
Christopher Foyle is a police inspector frustrated at being stuck at home investigating provincial crimes during the second world war.
Honeysuckle Weeks is an inspired choice as Foyle's sidekick, a clergyman's daughter posted from the Women's Royal Army Corps to serve as his driver, and she plays the part with an admirable period style.
Foyle's War - The Russian House Synopsis and Schedule