Detective Sergeant Tommy Murphy (
James Nesbitt) is an uncompromising, sometimes tough-talking cop. He has no issues with using his charm and sense of humour to attempt to impress any woman, especially Annie, his colleague and later boss. Murphy was previously married with a young daughter, in
Northern Ireland. There, his family were taken hostage and he was forced to make a choice; either carry a bomb and blow himself up in a local barracks, or have his daughter killed. He originally chose the first option but when he got to the barracks he couldn't go through with detonating a bomb that would kill a hundred people. When he got back to the house, he found that they had slit his daughter's throat and that his wife had been forced to watch. His decision affected almost everything he does in life. He reflects at intervals, and remarks that he received "a nice medal" for "saving" so many lives, by making such a sacrifice. Yet, he still feels responsible for his daughter's death. ==Cast==