Capital City - episode titles & synopsis

There were two series of Capital City, Colin scoring the music to both. Below are the titles and synopsis for each episode:

First Series

• Episode 1 - Second Quarter Figures - It's Monday morning on the trading floor of Shane Longman, a London-based international bank. The market has been erratic, nobody is getting it right and with US trade figures due in, the dealers are under pressure to improve their performances on last month's figures. Several members of the board are critical of the 'maverick' image of the trading floor. Heads may roll

• Episode 2 - Insider Trading - At the bank a serious problem looms. Leonard Ansen, the Senior Director of Banking Activities, and Wendy's closest ally on the top floor, is in trouble with the DTI. He is suspected of 'insider trading' and is forced to inform the board of the situation

• Episode 3 - Thanksgiving - Friday evening. The market is winding down. Sirkka is flying to Copenhagen for the weekend to see her boyfriend, Sven, and is about to leave when she hears that Aristotle has dropped out of an important deal she has been setting up. She must find another player fast; the deal has to be in place by Monday morning

• Episode 4 - Max In Trouble - Declan is having a dinner party for Max, Michelle and Sophie - an art dealer who likes Max and whom Max, for his part, seemed to like as well until he discovered she used to take drugs and he feels might start again. Max, though, seems far more interested in a potential deal, making a killing in some bonds by selling now while the price is high and buying back once the price has fallen

• Episode 5 - Pension Fund - Leonard Ansen, Senior Director of Banking Activities at Shane Longman, has spent a year wooing back a major client, the Municipal Pension Fund, and he assigns the job of advising them to Senior Dealer Declan at the Bank. Ansen as a result puts Declan in charge of a position which junior dealer Jimmy Destry was handling. Unforeseen problems threaten the dealer Declan is setting up for the Fund - problems in which Jimmy has a hand

• Episode 6 - Newspaper Story - Jimmy Destry meets journalist Sarah Douglas at a private party. Not realising her profession he divulges a lot of potentially damaging information surrounding the departure of Ralph Goldring, the former Finance Director of Shane Longman, and the activities of his colleagues on the Dealing Floor

• Episode 7 - Rainforest - Hudson Talbot, the capital markets originator of Shane Longman, is woken in the middle of the night by his colleague, Max Lubin, the director of swaps at the Bank. Hudson is persuaded, reluctantly, to discuss what sounds like another of Max's unorthodox but possibly brilliant schemes

• Episode 8 - Takeover - A dawn raid has occurred and Friedman's, a rival bank, has acquired 15% of Shane Longman's shares. A takeover is threatened. Chief Executive James Farrell tries to contact Peter Longman, the major shareholder - only to discover that he's fishing somewhere on the north-west coast of Tahiti and cannot be reached. Will Longman favour the bid?

• Episode 9 - Japanese Fund - Peter Longman is in ebullient spirits. As major shareholder of Shane Longman he has secured a deal with Ikedaa Bank, a large Tokyo Bank. A press launch party is being set up. The signing of the documents is to be widely covered by the City press. Leonard Ansen, the Senior Director of Banking Activities is not so enthusiastic though. He thinks Longman has rushed into the deal too fast. But Longman won't listen. His mind is made up

• Episode 10 - Max In Space - Max and Husdon have completed a deal for Shane Longman with the Pan Mediterranean Fund, an EEC entity which helps bringing finance to the poorer areas of Europe. Ansen signs on Shane Longman's behalf. The Chief Executive of the Fund, Jerome Heron is a difficult character, but his deputy, Monique Danvier is far more likeable...

• Episode 11 - Twelve Degrees Capricorn - Eyebrows are raised significantly when Max employs a revolutionary new way to predict major deals - astrology! Sirrka enters dangerous territory when she becomes a top flight hooker and discovers that risk isn't limited to the Dealing Floor

• Episode 12 - Max In Poland - Whilst finalising an awkward deal in Warsaw, Max is very taken with Maxine, who works in an art gallery. Sirrka, meanwhile, collapses through alcoholic poisoning and is rushed to hospital

• Episode 13 - Hard Drugs And Snails - Wendy quits as head trader for a better job but she is replaced by the hard-boiled Sylvia. Sirrka sees Max's escaped giant Amazon snail during a fit of the DTs and decides she has to join Alcoholics Anonymous

Second Series

• Episode 1 - Toxic Waste Syndrome - Sirrka investigates a corporate client's background, and her passionate reaction brings her into serious conflict with her colleagues and the Bank's executives

• Episode 2 - Swami's In Town - Michelle and her new assistant, Hilary, are puzzled by a client who balks at making a profit, and Max is surprised to find that Sylvia - the new head trader - believes that his job is not essential to the Bank

• Episode 3 - The Gnome From Zurich - The beautiful Claudine - an old friend of Declan's - persuades him into a deal he soon regrets. Michelle is unsympathetic as he gets into more and more difficulty, but the Bank softball match gives her the chance to help him out

• Episode 4 - Shoes On The Wrong Feet - Wolf goes to Prague to be present at the completion of a multi-million dollar deal, but his acquiescence in a colleague's questionable arrangements gets him into the kind of difficulties which bankers prefer to avoid

• Episode 5 - Ethical Investments - Hilary's job is threatened when Sylvia tries to convince the Bank's executives that they need staff cuts. The deal which might save her looks like it's going wrong. Sirrka faces a more personal trauma on her own

• Episode 6 - Headhunting - Declan and Michelle are having a difficult time. Declan wonders whether things would be better if they did not work together. As it happens, he has been approached by another bank. He is not sure why

• Episode 7 - Strange Attractors - Hudson unwillingly introduces his friend, Danny, to the trading floor. Danny is an expert in Chaos Theory, and starts giving good advice. Sylvia is impressed, and thinks Danny should be part of the team. Michelle and Hilary get involved with a deal for an attractive tycoon. For Michelle it's just business. Hilary hopes that it might be more than that for her

• Episode 8 - Strange Fruits - Hudson is embroiled in a difficult issue. The childminder has left, and Hudson's mother - over from the States - is standing in and looking after his son. Inevitably there's friction. Sirrka finds that she has to look closely at her relationship with her friend, Yolande

• Episode 9 - A Wolf In Wolf's Clothing - Contrary to the image he projects at the Bank, Lee Wolf is a gambler, and an unlucky one. His debts put his job and his personal life in jeopardy. He has to pull off something big to survive. While things get worse for Wolf, however, they get better for Declan and Michelle, who have a big decision to make

• Episode 10 - The Wedding - Sylvia saddles Hilary and Chas with an unsaleable issue, and won't accept that the problem has been caused by her. Hilary's attempts to sort things out are complicated by the fact that everyone at the Bank is off to the wedding of the year