John Thaw stars as the humble Monsignor Renard in this Masterpiece Theatre production. Having returned to his homeland of France just as the Germans are invading, Renard finds himself embroiled in a dilemma; on one hand, his faith dictates that he must help all human beings equally, but his hatred for the Nazis and desire to help the Resistance brings about a moral and spiritual crisis. Knowing that being identified with the Resistance could find him imprisoned or killed, Renard endures an internal struggle between the pacifist tenets of Christianity and the violent tactics of the Resistance as he tries desperately to protect anyone he can from the invading Germans.