Wednesday 22 January young estate agent Stephanie Slater was abducted in Birmingham and held hostage. In a bizarre series of notes and telephone calls, the kidnapper demanded a ransom of £175,000 for her safe release and threatened to kill her if the police were called in. Detectives began a covert inquiry and links were established with another unusual case, the abduction and murder of Leeds teenager Julie Dart. In a secret operation the regional crime squad arranged to pay the ransom through Stephanie's boss Kevin Watts. They hoped to arrest the kidnapper as he collected the money but they knew that they could be dealing with a ruthless murderer who was likely to kill again.

A supermarket manager is forced to rob his own store while his family is held hostage. Police took a calculated risk when a man they arrested gave information about the gang. Later, they discovered that all was not what it seemed.