Chasing Shadows

Chasing Shadows is a British police procedural drama that focuses on the work of a specialized Missing Persons Unit charged with tracking down serial killers who prey on vulnerable people. When socially awkward Detective Sergeant Sean Stone publicly criticizes his force's senior leadership, he is sidelined to the Missing Persons Field Unit. Possessing an intense analytical mind that appears to fall somewhere on the autism spectrum, Stone struggles with social cues and empathy but excels at spotting intricate patterns across cold and ongoing cases. Stone is partnered with Ruth Hattersley, an experienced data analyst from the Missing Persons Bureau whose warmth, social intuition, and emotional intelligence serve as the crucial counterweight to Stone's abrasive, data-driven approach. Together with their supervising officer, Detective Inspector Carl Prior, the duo investigates cases of missing individuals who have slipped through bureaucratic cracks, quickly discovering that seemingly isolated disappearances are often the work of predatory killers hunting in plain sight. Across multi-part investigations, the team navigates complex psychological terrain, dealing with suicidal youths targeted by online predators and vulnerable adults manipulated into vanishings. The series balances dark, suspenseful procedural mysteries with the evolving dynamic of an unconventional investigative partnership.