husband in bed with her 15-year-old sister Belinda, who is spending the weekend

with them. Judith walks out. The next day she consults a solicitor about a divorce.

Later the same day she returns home to collect some of her belongings and is

horrified to discover the naked bodies of her husband and sister on the bed where

she last saw them – both stabbed to death.

Judith is charged and found guilty of the crime. Whilst in jail, and after her

‘arranged’ release, she suffers the most degrading deprivations as she endeavours to

prove that, whatever else, she is not a murderer.

In Twenty-six Hours, Major Gregory Keen – together with Sergeant Coutts – travels to Berlin to find and destroy some diaries written by an indiscreet American General which are so inflammatory that, if they were to fall into the wrong hands, could cause another World War.

The diaries fall into the hands of ex-German General, Manfred Von Remer, who decides to sell them to the highest bidder…the United States, Russia or Great Britain.  Von Remer offers them first to the Americans, but will deal only through British Intelligence.

And so…Major Keen of MI-5 is put on the case.  He is to make his first contact through a girl in a Berlin café and it soon becomes obvious to Keen that more than one group is after the diaries.

104 x ‘Quarter-Hour’ episodes

Judith is duly charged with having murdered them. Her defence counsel urges her to plead ‘temporary insanity’, but she refuses. Mainly due to the fact that she insists on telling the truth, she is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

In prison, she is subjected to the most unspeakable indignities. Gradually she hardens. After three years having learnt to hold her own with the dregs of humanity, she is visited by Edmund Paradise, a top notch lawyer who tells her he has been retained by newspaper magnate Rothwell Merrington to look into the case, with a view to launching an appeal against Judith’s conviction. Paradise makes it clear to Judith at the outset that he believes she is guilty; but he tells her if she acts in accordance with his instructions, he will get her off. She agrees.

Paradise then proceeds to trump up a case for her – based on lies, ‘bought’ witnesses and bribed officials. He proves as good as his word. The appeal is upheld, and Judith is released. Determined to prove to Paradise, with whom she has fallen in love, that she is, in fact, innocent, she sets about investigating the murders she was unjustly convicted of, prepared to go to any lengths or sink to any level to get to the truth.

In the belief that the newspaper czar Merrington, who put up the money for the appeal, knows the identity of the real murderer, she becomes involved with him – and is ultminately moved to the conclusion that the murders were committed by Merrington’s son. Subsequently – events show that she is mistaken – and, in a horrifying denouncement, she stumbles on the truth that she has sought for so long.

Since her husband’s death, Ruth has been compelled to live on an allowance.  Ruth knows that if Greg Mallory inherits the estae he’ll sell and she’ll be forced to find somewhere else to live.

After the arrival of the man who calls himself Bart Barnett, Greg Mallory does all he can to prove the man is an imposter.  Bart’s mother, Ruth, claims he is not.  Bart’s claim is investigated even to the extent of having a court case concerning it.  For a time it looks as though Bart might be delcared an imposter but when Anita and Timothy arrive, Bart introduces them as his wife and son.  Timothy’s resemblance to the real Bart as a child and to his grandfather is so marked that it is finally accepted that his man is Bart Barnett.

Greg Mallory is still not satisfied.  He proposes to Jane Eaton and at the same time, seizes an opportunity to get Jane a position taking care of Ruth, who has had an operation, and helping with Timothy.  He persuades Jane to take the job in order to spy on Bart and Anita while he travels to the Pacific Islands to trace this man’s history.

The consequences are drastic. He loses not only his job but the girl he was engaged to marry. Bitter and disillusioned he leaves Sefton Ridge, sets out for New York with little but his pride intact.

Fifteen years later, famed novelist Garvin Wales sits on the forlorn beach at Tamburlaine Island, off Sefton Ridge, trying to write despite the fac that he is nearly blind. His wife, Lucy Wales, with whom he lives in complete seclusion on the island, hands him a letter to sign. He refuses. Lucy is furious. She has found that $1,000 a year for 20 years has been with-held from her husband’s royalties and sees no reason not to collect it. The letter to Wales’ New York publishers threatens to sue unless the money is repaid. She sends it off under her own signature despite her husband’s objections……..

Just when the business has begun to prosper, Linc is sent for by his Uncle Clive, who informs him that the Merritt Engineering Corporation is in serious trouble due to a leakage of top secret material that has cost the company tens of millions in contracts.  As a favour to his uncle, Linc agrees to return to the company as Executive Vice-President – second in authority only to Clive – but only until such time as he has traced the source of the leak and identified the culprit.  He takes Lucille with him as his personal secretary.

Next to Clive Merritt, and possibly one or two of the directors, the most powerful force in the company is Dinah Hendrix, Clive’s secretary, a beautiful black-eyed bitch, who has a dossier on every employee from the top down – and woe betide those who incur her displeasure.  She surprises Linc by offering him an alliance – an offer he is quick to accept because of her knowledge of the company and everything to do with it.

Everyone of authority in the company, with access to secret material, comes under Linc’s microsope.  One of them has to be the guilty party.  But which?  He narrows the fields of suspects down to a dozen or so – including department heads and board members.

Meanwhile, Clive Merritt recovers from his heart attack and insists on resuming control – to the profound relief of Linc, who, though he fears for his uncle’s health, finds the responsibilities that have been heaped on him too much to cope with.  By this time he suspects that Dinah Hendrix has designs on taking over the company herself – the more so, when, at Clive’s instigation, she is appointed to the board, and by devious means, obtains a large block of shares in the Merritt Corporation.  Despite this, Linc finds himself increasingly attracted to her  – an attraction that she goes out of her way to magnify – much to the horror of Lucille, who does everything possible to keep Linc from her clutches.

When Clive Merritt suffers a fatal heart attack which turns out to be murder, Linc is on his own – torn by the conflicting forces of big business, by the connivings of those who seek to usurp his throne, and the wiles of an elusive industrial spy, who may well be his uncle’s murderer – ready and waiting to strike again.

We meet Petrina, Curtis Barron’s daughter, whose love for her father turned to a deadly hatred – a hatred that was to poison the lives of them both.

Then, there is Greg Raymond – a hero in the eyes of the world, but whose greed and ambition bring disaster to the town of Midway.

We are also introduced to many other colourful characters who close their ears to the ugly rumours – rumours which would tell them that their peaceful little town was Midway to Hell.

Each episode is introduced by Gregory Keen, brilliantly played by Bruce Stewart.  No narrator is used, so the programe is alive the instant each chapter takes the air.  Touches of actuality create an atmosphere of realism throughout.  From the opening scenes, as the web is spun to enmesh the characters one after another to the climax – the suspense mounts, the pace quickens.

Madelaine, too, is distraught by the situation and refuses to share Jason’s bed any longer. Jason turns to the arms of other women, but soon Madelaine finds she is pregnant. After the birth of their son, Matthew, the marriage deteriorates into a bitter fight for the child’s affection. As the years pass, Matthew becomes a weak young man who wants nothing but to escape the conflict between his parents. A suspicious fall on the stairs cripples Madelaine and Matthew feels he cannot leave her.

Jason, meanwhile, is having an affair with is secretary, Regina Mead, who becomes pregnant. As Jason himself cannot marry Regina, the two conspire to make Matthew fall in love with her. After drinking heavily, Matthew finds Regina in his bed and believes he has seduced her. They are hastily married and Matthew brings Regina home to the great Clay mansion.

The triangle involving Jason, Regina and Matthew comes close to tragedy. When Regina’s son, Victor is born, Jason takes over. Another son is born, but when Matthew refuses to take her away from Jason’s house, Regina loses interest in both children and she begins to stay away from home seeking consolation in a series of tormented love affairs.

Meantime, Catherine’s son, Robert is growing up. Catherine has taught Robert to hate the name of Clay and the vengeance she has waited years to achieve is finally within her grasp.

And so, Clayton Place moves to its climax.