Tough cop Detective Chief Superintendent Cradock is assigned to track down and bring to justice the criminals behind the daring theft of five and half million pounds worth of gold bullion from an airfield in the South of England.
A shipment of gold bullion worth £5.5 million is stolen, when an aircraft carrying the consignment lands at West Marsh airfield in Kent. Subsequently, DCS Cradock is assigned to the case, in what is dubbed 'The Crime of the Century'.
While operating from his temporary headquarters at West Marsh aifield. Cradock gets his first lead, when eywitness Sally Hartford informs him about seeing the marksman entering her family home during the robbery.
Facing pressure from both his superiors and the Home Office, Cradock is tasked to track down and deliver the marksman who shot at the police car that was escorting the bullion van.
Cradock is convinced that the voice who mimicked a police operator's call belongs to conman Barry Porter. But how can he unearth the evidence that will implicate Porter with his potential involvement in the robbery.
It seems someone has paid £30,000 in order to a release a convict to help pull of the job. Can Cradock help figure out the mystery?
Cradock discovers that the getaway driver Peter Conroy has escaped to Austria to evade arrest. But he has left his wife Jennifer behind, and Cradock uses her to find answers.
Tom Goodwin, the pilot who flew the plane that contained the stolen bullion is prepared to spill the beans, but can Cradock trust him?
A meeting is arranged with Cradock, whom risks wading deeper into the depths of the criminal underworld for the price of getting on the robbers trail.
Cradock reaches a major turning point in his investigation when Harry Oscroft, an accountant to the gold robbers is threatened at home. His family soon appeal for help, yet Harry is reluctant to assist Cradock with his enquiries.
Hon. Timothy Fry DSO travels back to England to help smuggle Terry Lardner's wife and child out of the country. Cradock wants to know why an informer has implicated Fry with the bullion heist.
'Mr Big' is arrested in Paris, and Cradock has found the brains behind the robbery. Yet he knows there's someone bigger still at large, so he sets out to find him.
Cradock gets closer to heart of the robbery. Yet he finds himself under pressure from powerful men who are pulling the strings behind his superiors.
In spite of warnings, Cradock refuses to give up bid to capture and arrest the mastermind behind the bullion robbery. However, as he closes in on his prey, he finds himself in dangerous territory.