Episode 1

When a group of tree surgeons attempt to intervene in a road rage incident on Rochdale’s Newbold Estate, the dispute escalates, and one of the group is attacked with an axe, his hand almost severed. It soon emerges that the main suspects in the axe-attack are members of a notorious local gang known as the Adam OCG (Organised Crime Group), and the case is passed to Detective Sergeant Martin Soutter and his small team of specialist officers. With the axe attack providing a way into a wider investigation, Martin decides to launch an operation with the aim of bringing down the entire gang.

Martin’s team uncovers a sophisticated criminal network involved in major drug dealing, widespread grooming of children to deal drugs, witness intimidation and suspected money laundering. But as the investigation unfolds, it soon becomes clear that bringing the most senior gang members to justice will not be easy.