The debut episode of Down Cemetery Road introduces a distraught woman entering a private investigator’s office. Detective Zoë Boehm () conjectures, “Allow me to speculate. You have a husband. He has a secretary. Am I close?” She is mistaken. Sarah Trafford () is neither a classic film noir ‘femme fatale’ nor a scorned spouse, but approaches Oxford Investigations to assist with a puzzle seemingly unrelated to her personal existence. This initial, baffling fixation establishes the mood for Apple TV’s distinctively compassionate conspiracy thriller, scheduled for an Oct. 29 premiere.

Sarah, an art conservator who prefers meticulous tasks, is struggling as host of a dinner party where her entrepreneurial husband (Tom Riley) aims to impress an unpleasant potential investor (Tom Goodman-Hill). Suddenly, a real explosion occurs in her vicinity. Firefighters allude to a gas main while a young girl, Dinah, is rescued from the debris—the only survivor of an explosion that claimed her mother’s life. However, when Sarah visits the hospital to deliver a card to Dinah, she is rebuffed by strangely unfriendly personnel. The child is noticeably missing from media reports of the incident; she even seems to have been digitally removed from a photograph.

As we get to know Sarah better, a character Wilson has imbued with an engaging blend of intelligence, moral rectitude, inhibition, and anxiety, it becomes increasingly credible that she would jeopardize her comfortable, middle-class existence to save a young stranger. Zoë, who is resilient and sharp-witted, possessing a hint of faded allure and a tense dynamic with her kind, intellectual husband and colleague, Joe (Adam Godley), initially doubts Sarah. Yet, she quickly finds cause to participate in the quest for Dinah. Certain antagonists they encounter, within what evolves into a situation far more nefarious than a typical missing-persons investigation, exhibit intriguing internal struggles; while others are portrayed as embodiments of sheer malice.

The most implausible element of the series is the conspiracy plotline itself, appearing overly simplistic for a controversy of its scope. Nevertheless, the characters are so profoundly developed and the narrative surprises—with at least one major revelation per installment—so engrossing, it’s difficult to fault writer Morwenna Banks for prioritizing these aspects. Banks previously contributed writing to Slow Horses, a highly praised, Emmy-winning Apple spy thriller that, much like Down Cemetery Road, draws from Mick Herron’s novel series. Both productions share an interest in the heroic capabilities of quirky individuals and disillusioned veterans, a theme that has sustained Horses for five seasons (with an additional two underway). It is hoped that this collection of unconventional figures will experience an equally extensive run of escapades.