Based on the internationally acclaimed Tudor murder mystery novels by C.J. Sansom, the four-part drama is set in 16th century England during the dissolution of the monasteries. 　　The series will follow the story of Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer with an acute sense of justice and one of the few honest men in a world beset with scheming and plots. Shardlake works for Thomas Cromwell, the dangerous and all-powerful right-hand man to Henry VIII. 　　Despite Shardlake’s unwavering loyalty to Cromwell and the Crown, his position in society is unfavored due to his appearance, as a person living with scoliosis during the Tudor period, suffering the indignity of being abused as a “crookback” wherever he turns. As he investigates the murder of one of Cromwell’s commissioners at a monastery in the remote town of Scarnsea, he is accompanied by Jack Barak, a cocky and good-looking character who may be Cromwell’s spy.

莎拉（朱迪·科默 Jodie Comer 饰）从小就成长在否定之中，却从在阳光护理中心做护理员的经历中找到了自己人生的价值和方向。善解人意的她非常擅长同患者沟通，总是能够很容易的就获得患者的信赖。在众多的患者之中，一位名叫托尼（斯蒂芬·格拉汉姆 Stephen Graham 饰）的中年男子让莎拉颇为费心，托尼患有早发型阿兹海默症，还伴随着暴力行为，整个护理中心，只有莎拉一人能够镇得住他。 　　新冠疫情爆发了，医院里的情势发生了翻天覆地的变化，接连不断出现的疫情和意外让莎拉开始怀疑起了自己的能力和选择。当局对于疫情错误的判断也让莎拉开始重新思考起医疗体系的漏洞和脆弱。