Traces – In a Small Scottish Town, Unearthing Secrets Is Dangerous

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Charlene Giannetti in Playing Around

Emma Hedges (Molly Windsor) returns to her hometown, Dundee, to take a job as a lab technician with the prestigious Scottish Forensic Science and Anatomy (SIFA). The professor in charge, Sarah Gordon (Laura Fraser), has designed an online forensic course where participants must attempt to solve a murder. Emma eagerly signs onto the exercise only to realize that the fictional homicide is actually based on her mother’s death, which happened 18 years ago.

Emma vividly recalls the day her mother Marie disappeared. Along with her stepfather, Jimmy (Phil McKee), they were attending a festival in the harbor where tall ships were anchored. Jimmy became bored and when Marie wanted to stay, he and Emma left. Marie didn’t return home and the next day, Jimmy reported her missing. Her body was recovered in a shallow grave, but the killer was never caught. Emma’s determination to solve the crime threatens relationships with her remaining family, as well as some friends. And, because the killer is still on the loose, she places herself in danger.

Molly Windsor as Emma and Martin Compston as Daniel

Marie was an attractive woman who liked to take risks. In that regard, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Emma and her childhood friend, Skye, spend the night partying in a local club, drinking and taking drugs. Waking up in a strange man’s bed, she can’t find her purse. Daniel MacAfee (Martin Compston, Line of Duty), manages to get her into the club to retrieve her belongings. 

Arriving late at work, Emma receives her first assignment: identifying the drugs that are flooding Dundee’s streets. A small blue tablet with a smiley face Emma recognizes as the one she took at the club. Many of these drugs are lethal and Emma realizes she had a narrow escape.

Molly Windsor as Emma

Emma meets Daniel for a drink and learns that his company, MacAfee Construction, is being blamed for a fire in a club named Secrets. Although the owner of Secrets set the fire, hoping to collect insurance money, he didn’t realize his niece and another person were inside and unable to escape. Distraught, he kills himself. With the arsonist dead, the prosecutor wants to come after MacAfee Construction and because Daniel now runs the company, he could be charged with homicide. 

Skye’s mother, Izzy, Marie’s best friend, is in the hospital, battling cancer. She reveals something that Emma didn’t know, that her mother’s body had been dismembered. With Sarah’s help, Emma convinces the police to reopen the case. Detective Inspector Neil McKinven (Michael Nardone), soon is bringing people in for questioning. When these individuals who are close to her – her father, her stepfather, Izzy, and Skye – lash out, Daniel is the only one that Emma can trust. Yet because SIFA is investigating the Secrets fire, Emma’s relationship with Daniel could taint the findings and she’s told she can no longer work at SIFA. Soon a rift with Daniel leaves Emma on her own. Will Marie’s killer be found? Or has Emma embarked on this justice quest for nothing?

Molly Windsor as Emma

With a forensics lab front and center, Traces focuses on the nuts and bolts of solving a crime using science. The grave where Marie’s body was found is excavated, this time around employing the skills of forensic anthropologist Kathy Torrence (Jennifer Spence). The evidence fits the crime and soon unmasks the killer.

Molly Windsor who won a BAFTA TV award for best actress for her role in Three Girls, is terrific as Emma and has real chemistry with Compston. The series has been renewed for another season, this time around focusing on the race to find a bomber in Dundee. 

Traces can be streamed on BritBox
Photos courtesy of BritBox

About Charlene Giannetti (691 Articles)
Charlene Giannetti, editor of Woman Around Town, is the recipient of seven awards from the New York Press Club for articles that have appeared on the website. A graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Charlene began her career working for a newspaper in Pennsylvania, then wrote for several publications in Washington covering environment and energy policy. In New York, she was an editor at Business Week magazine and her articles have appeared in many newspapers and magazines. She is the author of 13 non-fiction books, eight for parents of young adolescents written with Margaret Sagarese, including "The Roller-Coaster Years," "Cliques," and "Boy Crazy." She and Margaret have been keynote speakers at many events and have appeared on the Today Show, CBS Morning, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and many others. Her last book, "The Plantations of Virginia," written with Jai Williams, was published by Globe Pequot Press in February, 2017. Her podcast, WAT-CAST, interviewing men and women making news, is available on Soundcloud and on iTunes. She is one of the producers for the film "Life After You," focusing on the opioid/heroin crisis that had its premiere at WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, where it won two awards. The film is now available to view on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and other services. Charlene and her husband live in Manhattan.

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