It has always been recognized as one of Charles Dickens' literary masterworks, but this Bleak House is now fast-moving, daring, gripping television. Here is the murder mystery, the love story, the comic genius and the tantalising scandal of the novel but, stripped of its sentimentality, we find ourselves swept along by a pulsating and edgy drama.

Out of an interminable court case spin three young people each searching for their place in the world. Their story moves fast - swirling through an incredible array of characters from passionate young lovers to ruthless layers, from an ice-cold aristocratic beauty to a shrewd, relentless detective - until the final thrilling climax.