On the series HINTERLAND, dreary, chilly, overcast Wales - specifically Aberystwyth and its surrounding area - is a place of self-exile (or self-quarantine) for its guilt-ridden protagonist DCI Tom Mathias (Richard Harrington, POLDARK) and a number of reclusive characters (some suspects, others local color). Whether the "New Year's Special" episode was meant to square up the 2013 first series by answering questions about Tom's backstory or to ready viewers for a second season nine months away in September 2015 after a year-long hiatus, it also telegraphs to its viewers to expect in the subsequent four series two episodes that Tom's personal involvement in a case always has to do with missing or dead children (including adults as grown children of a character whose sense of loss to which he can relate). Series two deals with Tom's emotional and professional fallout from the end of series one, with a professional investigation for his conduct in that case (and the outcome of the New Year's episode) alienating him from his partner DI Mared Rhys (Mali Harries) and team - DC Lloyd Ellis (Alex Harries) and DS Sian Owens (Hannah Daniel, BLACK MOUNTAIN POETS) - badgering by disgraced ex-cop Iwan Thomas (Geraint Morgan) who holds Tom responsible for the death of his wife, and Tom's suspicion that morally ambiguous Prosser's support comes with a price.

In the New Year's Special, Prosser orders Tom to return to work after a six week leave in the aftermath of "The Girl in the Water" case. Rhys is leading the investigation of an arson case that has left young mother Mari Davis (Elen Rhys, WORLD WAR Z) in a coma and her little boy badly burned and clinging to life. Suspects include those who disapproved of her husband Rhodri's (Hywel Morgan) ruthless business practices in taking over his respected father-in-law's logging company, as well as a family of a nearby foreclosed farm earmarked for company expansion, but Tom and Mared discover more personal motives in illicit relationships, broken childhood friendships, and unrequited desires. In the series two opener, Tom finds himself under professional investigation for alleged abuse of the murder suspect in the Thomas case (compounded by the disastrous end to the Davis case and allegations when he was working in London following the death of his daughter) while dealing with the sudden reappearance of his wife Meg (Anamaria Marinca, FURY) and investigating the broad daylight execution of a bus driver who was suspected of dealing drugs along his route. Suspects include the devastated family of a teenage boy who suffered brain damage after taking drugs at a party, the book-cooking bus company owner (John Pierce Jones, BRAZIL), an ex-con mechanic (Mark Lewis Jones, MASTER & COMMANDER) deeply haunted by his wartime experience and prison confinement, and his former cell mate (Tom Rhys Harries, JEKYLL & HYDE) who may also have been selling drugs with the victim.

When a lawyer is found dead in his country house with only some highly-valued antique guns missing, the locals suspect reclusive teenage poacher Daniel (Joseff Owen). When Tom and Mared discover that the boy has been living for some time with the mummified corpse of his mother, they fear that the locals are looking for a scapegoat, among them a gamekeeper (Dafydd Hywel) whose daughter (Non Haf) has been keeping company with the boy, and the son (Gwydion Rhys) of the dead man's housekeeper (Rhian Jones) who may be covering up other illegal activities. When the corpse of a woman discovered in a submerged car turns out not to be its owner schoolteacher Greta Pritchard, Tom and Mared must identify the victim and discover the whereabouts of Greta who may either be the killer or another victim. As they investigate Greta's background, they discover a double life and secret relationships. Suspects include her overprotective father (Ian Saynor, SCREAMTIME), a possibly abusive ex-boyfriend (Huw Euron), Greta's schoolteacher colleague (Shelley Rees) and her husband (Ryland Teifi), as well as a too-perfect suitor who seems to only exist as a dating site profile. In the series two closer, Tom and Mared investigate the discover of a burned body on the beach that turns out to be a man released from prison after a thirteen year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend. While questioning the family of victim and his girlfriend, they discover a long-running family feud and call into question the original investigation and the victim's unwavering claims of innocence. Prosser, who investigated the original case and put the man behind bars, pressures Tom to focus on capturing the dead man's killer that than reopening an old case despite the inconsistencies he and Mared have discovered.