The BBC drama that launched Mystery! on PBS
While on a Pyrenees vacation in 1922, upright English gentleman Richard Chandos (Malcolm McDowell) encounters the villainous Vanity Fair (Eileen Atkins). Mistress of the turreted Chateau Jezreel and leader of a motley band of criminals, she will inherit millions if she can force her stepdaughter to marry. Pitting his wits against this formidable adversary, Chandos determines to rescue the beautiful young woman. But Vanity Fair keeps one step ahead of him, a trick forever up her sleeve and murder in her heart.

Based on the novel by Dornford Yates and adapted by Tom Sharpe (Wilt, Porterhouse Blue), the story unfolds in a series of twists and turns as sharp as the hairpin bends around which the protagonists hurl their luxury cars. Emmy®-winner Atkins and Golden Globe®-nominee McDowell play perfect foils in this highly entertaining thriller.