本剧讲述了武当弟子玄书受师父嘱托，带着祖师配制的长生不老丹药，下山寻觅70年前服用此药、传说至今样貌未变的一位女子。期间经历曲折、坎坷，不幸被卷入某无良集团设下的商业陷阱，双方进行了一场善恶分明的生死搏斗，最终骗局被揭穿，邪恶势力绳之以法，展现了一种人性的救赎。
The disappearance of Sir Julius Hanbury - and the theft of several of his erotic paintings - provide a new puzzle for Morse to solve. Assisted by DS Lewis, Morse interviews everyone at Hanbury House and it is in the course of searching the grounds that he finds Sir Julius' body, appropriately enough, in the family mausoleum. The pathologist notes that he was the victim of a frenzied attack but the lack of blood at scene leaves the police to conclude that he murdered elsewhere. Sir Julius was a candidate to become the Master of an Oxford college and was known to have a have had a bitter rivalry with another candidate for the position. When Roger Meadows, a friend of the Hanbury's au pair, is killed in a car accident, Morse concludes that that he too was murdered. Jealousy, revenge and greed all play part in the deaths.
Henry Fallon, who is wheelchair bound and is suffering from a neurological disorder, apparently commits suicide and Morse has mixed feelings working on this case as he was once engaged to the dead man's wife, Susan Fallon. The body was found by his son-in-law Peter Rhodes, a local antiques dealer and the victim's wife was in London. When Fallon's doctor advises Morse that Henry didn't have the physical capability to hold a gun to his head, the police realize they may have a murder on their hands. When the police are told that the business arrangement between Fallon and Rhodes had fallen apart, they also have a suspect. Lewis is concerned that Morse is too close to Mrs. Fallon to be objective but in the end, the perpetrators are identified.
