A Guilty Thing Surprised Material in this sub-sereis is linked to the Thames Telesion production of Exton's adaptations of Ruth Rendell's Guilty Thing Surprised , an Inspector Wexford novel. The synopsis (taken from IMDB) is as follows: 'In a small country manor estate a small staff live and work together servicing the needs of the Nightingale family. Denys Villiers is there to work as a writer and tends to stay away from everyone else, while his sister doesn't get on with him and his wife tends to not see him that much either. When Elizabeth Nightingale is found dead in a shed in the forest, DCI Reg Wexford and his men are called in to investigate. They don't need to ask too many questions before they realise that the relationships and secrets within the small community are not as clear as they first appear.' 1980s