Sunday 23 March 2008 9:00pm - 10:00pm on ITV1.

DC Frank Taylor is an ambitious police officer fresh from the advanced course in Bramshill and only weeks away from his dream job with the Flying Squad. He’s a natural born cop. His temporary secondment to the clean-up Soho squad is just a brief detour on his rapid career path. His old mate Jon Young is on the team too - they‘ll have a laugh, just like the old days.

Posing as gullible punters they meet the beautiful clip joint hostess Jeannie. Both men have an immediate, powerful, unspoken sexual attraction to her but getting involved with a tart is a sure way to mess up your career - as is Jon’s insistence on investigating Jeannie’s allegation that the club regularly pays bribes to West End officers.

Frank suspects that Jon and Jeannie have slept together and a potent mix of jealousy and self-interest make him determined to sort this mess out on his own terms. He gets Jon transferred out of Soho and away from Jeannie, much to Jon’s disgust. With Jon out of the picture his true motives become clearer - his growing obsession with Jeannie overwhelms him and he risks everything just to sleep with her. Jeannie tells Jon about the liaison and Frank and Jon’s friendship is shattered beyond repair.

Life hasn’t treated Billy Porter well since his national service in the Far East. The army wouldn’t give him a full commission and a civvy job doesn’t come easily to a young man with a borstal record. Seven years in prison have isolated him even more and a life of crime seems to be his only option. But even this frustrates him. His mates Jimmy and Stan are pathetic losers content with small jobs on bookies and petrol stations. Billy wants more - and he’ll use force to get it. A big job is planned and this time Billy will use a shooter.

Tony Meehan has a way with words - and an obsession with violent murderers - perfect qualifications for a casual reporter on one of the more salacious red tops on Fleet Street. His quest for a full time job is greeted with a distinct lack of interest by his editor. Stories like the arrest of the hostess Jeannie at the clipping joint make good copy but if he wants a full time job he’ll have to come up with something a lot juicier than that. His own continuing battle with his sexuality leads him to haunt public toilets and the meat rack at Piccadilly Circus in search of a connection but his desire is always overcome by his innate self-disgust. This is a man on the edge - his brutal attack on a man in a public toilet in Whitehall is just a glimpse into the dark soul of this troubled man.

The lives of the three men are finally inextricably linked on the day after the World Cup Final.

When Stan’s van is routinely stopped by a three police officers on the road near Shepherd’s Bush, Billy’s boiling fury finally erupts. He grabs for his gun and calmly mows down the officers one by one.

Tony is the first reporter to arrive. He is thoroughly exhilarated by the scene of appalling carnage that greets him - he grabs the camera from his photographer and starts snapping away furiously, capturing for perpetuity the mangled bodies of the dead officers. Tony is dragged away from the scene by a furious Frank, who has just arrived. When Frank returns to examine the carnage properly he is horrified to see the lifeless face of Jon staring back at him