It?s 1968 and the swinging sixties have made their way up North and into the life of grizzled Inspector George Gently. Joined by his sharp tongued partner DS John Bacchus (Lee Ingelby), with whom he shares sharp wit and banter, Gently finds himself on the case of a murdered aristocrat, a kidnapped orphan and a murder that may have been a race-hate crime.
The late sixties are a turbulent time in Britain and Gently?s investigations are complicated by class tensions, a dark undercurrent of racism and the outmoded shame of single motherhood, not to mention the threat of past grudges rearing their head. There are also signs of change though as Gently witnesses the coming of age of a younger, more tolerant generation and their increasing social consciousness. And, of course, there is Northern Soul.
Filled with suspense, humour and soul, Series 5 of George Gently is more than just a detective procedural. A piece of nostalgia for anyone who was there and something unseen for anyone who wasn?t, it is a reminder of an imperfect but hopeful time that resonates right through to the present.