Circles of Deceit: Sleeping Dogs

This is the second of the quartet of TV movies starring Dennis Waterman as John Neil, a former veteran of the SAS, now doing highly dangerous work for the security services. It follows on from the first movie, with Neil living an isolated existence following his narrow escape from the clutches of the IRA only to reluctantly return to the shadowy world of secret intelligence at the behest of a new 'controller' - convincingly played by Susan Jameson. As she's already been seen in a couple of the earlier aired of the movies, I suspect transmission of this one was delayed due to political events of the time.

Neil has to liaise with a former KGB officer (Leo McKern) who as an 'introductory offer' gives the name of two 'sleepers' in the UK. What at first seems like a routine investigation into this pair soon has explosive repercussions with several murders culminating with an attempt to wreck an Irish peace conference, with Neil falling back into the hands of his IRA foes at one point. He also finds himself falling in love but could he settle down with the kind of existence he leads? A fast-moving thriller with a strong performance from the star.