The Infernal Serpent

The death of a senior fellow outside his Oxford college of Beaumont, during an apparent mugging, while on the way to give a controversial speech, leads Morse to suspect the prominent environmentalist was killed because of his beliefs. The death appears to have been a heart attack and Morse is just about to give up on the case, which is what his superior wants him to do, but feels that Master Matthew Copley-Barnes (Geoffrey Palmer) and his family, including a well known reporter, Sylvie Maxton (Cheryl Campbell) who lived with the family when she was young, are not telling him everything about some mysterious packages the Master is receiving. (The title is from Paradise Lost by John Milton.)