Spooks series 8 : Episode guide

This is a list of the episodes in the eighth series of Spooks, with brief plot summaries.

Episode 1

The previous series ended as Harry was kidnapped by the FSB and was about to be flown to Russia. When the Sacred Army of Righteous Vengeance (SARV) posts footage of Harry's execution on the Internet it seems that Section D's worst fears have been realised. But Ros refuses to believe that Harry is dead and she sends Lucas North to extract information from the new CIA liaison officer in London, Sarah Caulfield. The two are clearly attracted to each other, but she has no information to give Lucas about Harry. Then former team member Ruth Evershed returns to the Grid, with information that may help Section D to find Harry. (Video clips... and pictures...)

Episode 2

An explosion at a gas processing plant throws energy supplies in the country into crisis. Although the Home Secretary insists publicly that alternative suppliers are available, behind closed doors the Government is in secret talks with Tazbekstan, a nation with a dubious human-rights record. The Tazbek Trade And Industry Secretary Rustam Urazov agrees to supply Britain with energy in return for being allowed to kill two enemies, exiled poet Bibi Saparova and campaigning journalist Matthew Plowden. He expects Section D to turn a blind eye to this, but Jo and Lucas insist that they should protect Bibi and Plowden. (Video clips... and pictures...)

Episode 3

The powerful Bendorf group, made up of the eight richest men in the world, is meeting on British soil. Ros is sent undercover to attend the meeting but then a group of armed terrorists takes everyone hostage. Ros and the other hostages are held in an underground bunker and the only way out is rigged with explosives. Harry sends in Lucas and Jo to assess the situation, but as they arrive at the scene the situation worsens. The leader of the terrorists, Finn Lambert, puts Thomas Mickelson from the Bendorf group on trial, broadcasting it live to the world, online, and asking the public to vote on the outcome. (Video clips...)

Episode 4

Oleg Darshavin, Lucas North's former Russian prison torturer, turns up with intelligence about a Sudanese terror attack on London. He's demanding a high price for his information, and Harry and Ros are not willing to pay it. However it's agreed that Lucas will meet him. But on his way to the meeting, Lucas breaks contact with the Grid, loses his tail, and directs Oleg to his own flat. Lucas struggles to keep control of the situation but then Sarah Caulfield arrives and throws the entire operation into jeopardy, putting both their lives in danger. Lucas has to confront his past in prison in order to find out more about the planned Sudanese attack. (Video clips...)

Episode 5

The sudden death of CIA boss Samuel Walker is puzzling Harry Pearce. Officially it's said that he committed suicide, but Harry doesn't believe it, especially when another CIA agent dies. He begins to wonder whether the deaths have something to do with the power meeting at Basel - Walker had arranged to meet Harry to talk about Basel. Meanwhile, Ros Myers is contacted by her old mentor, Jack Coleville, an ex-MI6 golden boy who suddenly left the service. Coleville asks Ros to read his memoirs, paying special attention to a chapter about Harry and Gibraltar. But Harry insists he was never in Gibraltar, so why is Coleville lying? (Video clips...)

Episode 6

Britain is on the verge of bankruptcy and the Government can't honour its national debt payments. So Section D must retrieve more than a billion pounds of illegal earnings from DeWits bank. Ryan Baisley, a DeWits employee, has been working as an MI5 asset for several months, secretly recording account details. MI5 now orders him to hand over the information, but he has other plans. A team of assassins breaks into his safe house and he goes on the run. Not only have Harry and his team now lost him, but they then discover he has attempted to do a deal with the DeWits bank manager, Irvin Perrot. Eventually Section D tracks him down, but the assassins are also on his tail. After a shootout, they lose him again. Can they find him in time to avert the looming national crisis? (Video clip...)

Episode 7

A Pakistani intelligence officer is stabbed to death in south London, and suddenly Dickie, the head of the Pakistani intelligence service in London, wants to talk to Section D. He tells Harry and Ros that he's been running an asset who has infiltrated a group of Hindu nationalists, led by Harish Dhillon. He knows that Dhillon's group is planning an attack that will target Muslims. Given the tensions between the Hindu and Muslim communities, Harry demands that Dickie hand over his asset – 17-year-old Ashok Veerkal. But Ashok is terrified and wants to get out of Dhillon's group. In spite of this, Section D has to put pressure on him to find out when and where the attack will happen. (Video clip... )

Episode 8

The situation between India and Pakistan reaches crisis point when an Indian submarine ends up in Pakistani hands. The Indian Government sets a seven-day deadline before it retaliates and so the pressure is on to avert the first nuclear confrontation since the Second World War. The British and Americans hurriedly organise a peace summit in London in a desperate bid to resolve the crisis. Section D is tasked with looking after security but, unbeknown to Harry and his team, Russell Price, the CIA agent in charge of American security, is part of secret power group Nightingale. While Harry and Ros try to keep the peace talks on track, Lucas receives a surprise visit from Sarah Caulfield. She's been instructed to kill him... (Video clips...)