MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! Zen: Vendetta

What does an honest cop do when his bosses are on the side of the lawbreakers? Outwitting prosecutors, politicians, mobsters, and run-of-the-mill kidnappers and killers, Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not, on "Zen," a trio of spellbinding cases based on the bestselling novels by Michael Dibdin.

Rufus Sewell ("Middlemarch") stars as Zen, a Roman police detective hailing from Venice, where "Zen" is a local shortening of the name Zeno. Separated from his wife and living with his mother, he is too frazzled by his job to think about romance. That is, until he meets Tania Moretti (Caterina Murino), his chief's new secretary.

Three new episodes airing in 2011, "Vendetta" (July 17), "Cabal" (July 24) and "Ratking" (July 31), showcase an international cast including Ed Stoppard ("Upstairs Downstairs"), Ben Miles ("The Forsyte Saga"), Stanley Townsend ("Sherlock") and Greg Wise ("Return to Cranford").

"Vendetta" - A killer is on a vendetta-fuelled rampage against those who wrongly imprisoned him, including a cop who had almost nothing to do with it: Zen.

But Zen is too busy dealing with another crime—a politically-charged murder—to notice that he’s on the psychopath’s hit list. Ordered by his boss to nail the chief suspect in the murder case whether he is guilty or not and by a justice official to get the guy off, Zen is in a no-win situation—although he has won the heart of his officemate Tania Moretti. With so many distractions, can Zen solve the murder while keeping his job, staying alive, and getting to know Tania better?

Episodes of "Zen" will be available for online viewing beginning July 18, 2011.