Joseph Beattie

Befriended by aristocrat Sebastian Flyte, Oxford student Charles Ryder finds that the power and privilege experienced by the family is seductive. On a visit to the ancestral home, Brideshead, he falls in love with his friend's sister, Julia. However, as his ties to the Flytes deepen, Ryder finds himself at odds with their strong Roman Catholicism.

Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford

Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.

Four young thrill-seekers race cars on the streets of Germany.

Andrew Crocker-Harris is an embittered and disliked teacher of Greek and Latin at a British prep school. After nearly 20 years of service, he is being forced to retire for 'health reasons', and perhaps may not even be given a pension. The boys regard him as a Hitler, with some justification. His unfaithful wife Laura tries to hurt him in any way she can. Andrew must come to terms with his failed life and at least regain his own self-esteem.

In an old building, Bill and Blue, a call girl, discover a mutoscope and a secret room that is key to unlocking a dark secret related to Blue's family.

In 1830s England, Tom Brown attends a rugby boys' school, where his moral and personal growth is formed through friendship, bullying–particularly from the cruel Flashman–and the influence of headmaster Dr Thomas Arnold.

While on assignment covering a volcanic eruption journalist Russell Woods' life is shattered when his wife is killed in the ensuing carnage. Grieving he travels to the small village in Italy where she was born. There he is followed by a curious young girl Angela whom the townspeople believe is cursed by the devil. Despite their warnings he feels a strange connection to her and believes her odd behaviour is somehow linked to the death of his wife. But when things turn otherworldly Russell realises that bigger events are unfolding. Something supernatural has come to this small village and Angela is the key.