The first two series of the epic saga plotting the course of one family against the backdrop of a revolution in crime.

1951. With the Festival of Britain in full swing, the country is looking forward to a brighter, more prosperous future. But young Brian Oldman cannot forget the past. Traumatised by a murder he witnessed when he was just six, he holds a terrible secret, but there is a more devastating secret he has yet to discover. Falling under the spell of his mother, Cath, he is drawn into London's criminal underworld, where territory battles are raging between the old guard and the new.

Brian idolises his uncle Jack Braden, who dreams of becoming a boxing champion. But when his ambition is thwarted by the army and the Kray twins, Jack's bitterness and anger turns him towards crime. Meanwhile, the head of the family, Joey Oldman - a Russian Jew with a talent for business and a love of money - is building an empire. Growing rich with the help of venal bankers, he and Cath join Macmillan's Conservative Party and move in increasingly influential circles.

They try in vain to keep their son, Brian, away from Jack, who has taken the 'firm' from running illicit clubs to armed robbery. Battling to escape the law, the Krays and their rivals, the Richardsons, Joey finds himself so steeped in depravity, even his lawyer struggles to help him survive....

Adapted by award-winning writer G. F. Newman (Law and Order, Judge John Deed) from his own best-selling books, this thrilling series spans six decades, following the fortunes of the Oldmans as they are sucked into a web of corruption reaching to the heart of the Establishment. Weaving fiction with real historical characters, it reveals the nexus of crime, business and politics woven through the fabric of 20th- and 21st-century greed. Toby Jones stars as Joey, with Denise Gough as Cath, Tom Weston-Jones as Jack, Joe Armstrong as Brian and Ross Kemp as the Narrator.

Please note: contains violence, scenes of a sexual nature, prejudicial dialogue and attitudes prevalent in the time in which the events depicted took place.

Created by G. F. Newman.

Characters based on G. F. Newman's novels.

Produced and directed by Clive Brill.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.

Cast:

Narrator - Ross Kemp

Joey Oldman - Toby Jones

Cath Oldman - Denise Gough

Young Brian - Rory McMenamin

Brian - Joe Armstrong

Jack Braden - Tom Weston-Jones/Luke Allen Gale

Gracie Braden/Violet Kray - Ruth Gemmell

Billy Hill/Keffo - Robert Glenister

Bobby Brown/Eddie Richardson/Selwyn Carruthers/Lambert/John Bindon - Charles Davies

Watling/Mr Thompson/Tom Driberg - Nigel Cooke

Win Booker - Lotte Rice

Frank Cockain/Tiger Braden/Tinkerbell - Michael Eaves

Spotty/Sammy Cohen/Capt Tyrwhitt - Jonathan Tafler

DI Drury - Tom Weston-Jones

Ronnie Kray/Mr Booker/CSM/Basil Jones/Harold Wilson/Alfie - Lewis MacLeod

Bank Manager/DI Bulmer - Matthew Townshend

Stephen Ward/Shop Owner/Policeman/Fenwick/John Bloom/Paul Raymond - Theo Fraser Steele

Alice/Gladys Brown - Catherine Henderson

Driver/Charlie Richardson/Dealer - Oliver Mawdsley

DI Drury/Fat Cecil/Rikki the Malt - Matthew Marsh

Leah Cohen - Jasmine Hyde

Joshua/Pongo - Chinna Woddu

Ruth Sutton/Martha Baines/Student - Kellie Shirley

Arnold Goodman - Edward Max

Tony Wednesday - Petrice Jones

Judge Stevenson - David Shaw Parker 

Other parts played by members of the cast

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 21st October-1st November 2013 (Series 1), 19th-30th January 2015 (Series 2).