The series featured the further adventures of the title character who had first appeared in
Department S (1969). In that series he was a
dilettante dandy and author of a series of adventure novels, working as part of a team of investigators. In
Jason King he had left that service to concentrate on writing the adventures of Mark Caine, who closely resembled Jason King in looks, manner, style, and personality. None of the other regular characters from
Department S appeared in this series, although Department S itself is occasionally referred to in dialogue. In the course of visiting international locations as part of his research, or through being summoned by people needing assistance, King would be frequently embroiled in adventure stories featuring glamorous women, exotic locations, menacing
villains, political turmoil, or espionage intrigue. The first episode depicted King's retelling of a Mark Caine novel to a television executive, alternating between King's interpretation of events, and the television executive's version. King's version showed style and class, while the executive's version featured added suspense, more cliches, and had the women in more revealing costumes. In the footage representing both men's vision of the novel adapted for the screen, Mark Caine was portrayed by Wyngarde. The titles of the Mark Caine books often consisted of four short words, in the manner of some of
Ian Fleming's
James Bond novels. The Mark Caine title mentioned most often in the series was
Index Finger Left Hand; another was
To China Yours Sincerely (parodying Fleming's
From Russia With Love). Subsequent episodes featured Wyngarde playing King trying to write his novels and being pressured by his publisher Nicola Harvester about deadlines. King, however, was usually distracted by women and the adventures of his normal life, and was sometimes tricked by Ryland of the British Government into assisting the Government in international political matters: all of which later found their way into the adventures of the fictional Mark Caine. ==Cast==