Burn Up
Episode synopses
Episode 1
A team of geologists are murdered in the Saudi desert but one – Masud – survives to set in motion a
chain of events which will pit friend against friend; country against country…
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When Sir Mark Foxbay, CEO of Arrow Oil, resigns abruptly he is succeeded by his son-in-law Tom
McConnell, a choice approved by Arrow's pro-oil lobbyist, and Tom's best friend, Mack.
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Within days
Tom is handed a writ by Mika – a climate change activist who alleges Arrow Oil have rendered her
Inuit homeland uninhabitable.
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To stem bad publicity, Tom and Mack plan to raise the profile of Arrow's Head of Renewables, Holly
Dernay. But positive PR becomes redundant when, after her writ is thrown out, Mika sacrifices herself
in an act which has a devastating impact on Tom, who begins to question his convictions - something
hastened by his growing closeness to Holly.
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With terms for Kyoto 2 set to be agreed at a conference
in Calgary, Mack puts increasing pressure on Tom to stand by his employers.
Masud resurfaces in London and the murders in the Saudi desert come to the attention of
Government fixer Philip Crowley, charged with pacifying the green lobby.
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With Masud claiming a
connection to Sir Mark and Arrow, Philip delves deeper only to discover that Holly is an undercover
activist. Under pressure from Philip, Holly becomes involved in the hunt for Masud and follows the trail
to Sir Mark. When Sir Mark is later found dead it is clear that he was embroiled in a cover up.
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With all
key oil industry execs en route to Calgary, can the conspiracy really be contained…?
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Episode 2
Knowing Sir Mark's death was no accident, Holly tracks down Masud – only he can explain what
happened in the Saudi desert and how Sir Mark was involved.
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He reveals that it was Sir Mark who
employed the team of geologists and he will trust their findings only to his successor – Tom.
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In Calgary, Tom has decided where his loyalties lie – and it isn't with Arrow Oil. Now secretly in the
environmentalist camp, he and Philip put pressure on the US to reduce their carbon emissions. Hiding
this from Mack is tricky and, as soon becomes clear, very dangerous.
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Holly arranges for Tom to meet with Masud and he is shocked to learn the truth – the belief that Saudi
Arabia has the necessary oil reserves to see the world into the next century is a myth.
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Tom knows
that making this public would cause economic panic, leading to mass hysteria and potentially war,
and realises that the geologists and Sir Mark were killed to stop this information becoming public –
but by whom?
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Much to Holly's disappointment, Tom refuses to blow the whistle – the fall-out is just
too great. Holly takes matters into her own hands and tells Mack that she has the information, not
realising the danger this puts her in…
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Tom watches America refuse to sign up to any emissions limits and knows that all hope of reaching a
diplomatic solution is gone. In a tense encounter with Mack, Tom wrestles with his dilemma – is
revealing the devastating truth to the world the only way to bring about change?
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Masud Kamil is played by San Shella, Tom McConnell by Rupert Penry-Jones, Mack by Bradley
Whitford, Sir Mark Foxbay by David Calder, Mika Neiminem by Sandrine Holt, Holly Dernay by Neve
Campbell and Philip Crowley by Marc Warren.
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JP3/PPR
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