Masterpiece Classic: Any Human Heart - Part Two

How can a man in the bloom of youth, pursuing writing and sex with equal vigor, end up grizzled, old, and surrounded by piles of boxes and paper, the detritus of a life?

The answer is the story of Logan Mountstuart, who believes, "Every human being is a collection of selves...we never stay just one person." And the twentieth century provides the perfect backdrop for Logan to live out his lives, drinking absinthe with Ernest Hemingway, initiated into intrigue by Ian Fleming, and embroiled in the arch expat world of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. A novelist, war correspondent, father, spy, prisoner of war, art dealer, husband, and many times over, a lover — an Everyman of sorts — Logan is played at three junctures of his life.

Based on William Boyd's bestselling novel, this three-part series stars Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen, and Sam Claflin. Also starring are Haley Atwell, Kim Cattrall, Gillian Anderson, Tom Hollander and Ed Stoppard.

In this episode, Logan's fortunes are looking up and he is pleased to securely provide for his wife Freya and his baby daughter Stella, as with the outbreak of World War II, Logan is recruited as a British spy by Ian Fleming. But before long, a mission separates him from his beloved Freya and Stella and pulls him into the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's Bahamian inner circle, a suffocating and, as it turns out, dangerous place.

Another mission for Logan brings another separation, and this time Logan's luck runs out. As a prisoner of war in solitary isolation, the only thing worse than his imprisonment is his return home. Devastated by war and tragedy, Logan looks to America and New York City to begin anew.

Part three of "Any Human Heart" will air on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV.

"Any Human Heart" is available for online viewing from February 14 - March 22, 2011.