George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.
1979 · 7 episodes
September 10, 1979 · 50m
Retired espionage veteran George Smiley is called out on a top-secret mission: to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
September 17, 1979 · 49m
British agent Ricki Tarr, believed to have defected, resurfaces with sensational information: confirmation of a Russian mole in the Service.
September 24, 1979 · 47m
The investigation begins, with Peter Guillam burgling the archives for information, while Smiley visits an old comrade whose past knowledge could prove vital to locating the spy.
October 1, 1979 · 43m
While Guillam and Tarr come under pressure, Smiley recounts his one meeting with Soviet master spy Karla, who is undoubtedly running the mole inside MI6.
October 8, 1979 · 45m
Smiley calls on ex-Circus spy San Collins, who was the duty officer the night Jim Prideaux was shot. Collins confirms the events as Smiley understands them and that Prideaux's good friend Bill Hayden is the senior officer who took charge of the case after all hell broke loose. Smiley subsequently meets with Prideaux to get a firsthand account of the events during the disastrous Operation Testify in Czechoslovakia.
October 15, 1979 · 41m
Smiley confronts one of his suspects and gives him the results of his investigations, which could prove a considerable embarrassment to those concerned.
October 22, 1979 · 43m
Smiley springs his trap and catches the mole, who confesses how and why it happened, and the answers ultimately rob Smiley of any sense of victory.