Lewis returns to Oxford after several years absence and is reluctantly assigned by his new boss, DCS Innocent, to the murder of an Oxford mathematics student who was shot while participating in a sleep study. The key-code used to access the sleep lab was assigned to a fellow maths student, Daniel Griffin, but Daniel's math tutor has provided him with an alibi. Daniel is a maladjusted young man who will soon inherit his father's automotive empire. He is disruptive and has no respect for his uncle who now heads the company. The future of the company however rests on an impending deal with Japanese investors who insist that family unity is all important at this time. When two other murder occurs, Lewis must decipher a cryptic clue left in an old case file by his former boss, Chief Inspector Morse.

　　现代化大都市——上海，高楼鳞比，繁华如锦。四十多岁的吴全清和他的妻子(一个待岗在家的普通工人)以及他们的两个妹妹、妹夫在这里过着不能再平凡的日子，却又各自面对许多发生在他们身上不平凡的事。
　　吴全清身为长婿，上有老丈人、丈母娘，要尽儿子的孝道；小有一个满脑子新思想的儿子，要做一个严父、慈父。他从一名跳水队的教练下海，经营着一家小作坊式的养狗场，但是养狗厂的倒闭，儿子女友的突然怀孕，甚至家里的感情危机，都让他的生活陷入混乱。
　　佩芳的大妹妹佩蕾是个标准的上海“作女”，小心眼、刀子嘴，见不得别人的日子比自己好，常为一点小利与姐妹斗气。丈夫蔡强退伍兵出身，老实巴交地经营着一间小装修公司。日子稍好，但始终无法满足佩蕾的虚荣心。最后因为一场突发的变故终于让这个平时不折不扣的标准“气管严”爆发出来，二人在家里上演了一场“全武行”后劳燕分飞。
　　小妹佩莺与丈夫马鸣同在一家大型私企上班。为了工作方便，二人从未在单位里公开夫妻身份。佩莺的美貌，让老板徐弘向来垂涎三尺，经常有意无意地骚扰她。这让马鸣敢怒不敢言，但看在不菲的薪水能供给按揭的房子这个事实，又不得不忍气吞声。但忍无可忍，面对徐弘的变本加厉，夫妻俩联手狠狠教训了色鬼老板，携手从容离开了公司，共同筹划新的生活。
　　三个男人为了家庭、事业、妻子、儿女无不焦头烂额，捉襟见肘。虽苦但苦的有滋有味，虽累但累的无怨无悔。