If you’re a big fan of murder mysteries and tales of high society, you may already be familiar with the narrative of Towards Zero. The 1944 novel, penned by renowned English author Agatha Christie, was recently adapted for a BBC One series, spanning three brief but memorable episodes. Though the series generally sticks to the same narrative structure as the original Towards Zero story, there are a few key differences which make the 2025 series unique. For those interested in exploring these changes, we’ll discuss the full plot, break down some character motivations and explain how the series’ conclusion wraps up the bizarre murder mystery. Be advised that there will be full spoilers for Towards Zero ahead, so be sure to proceed with caution if you haven’t finished watching all three episodes of the show.
What is ‘Towards Zero’ about?
As stated, Towards Zero is a murder mystery plot, which takes place in England in the mid-twentieth century. The show opens with a series of tabloids documenting an attention-grabbing celebrity divorce, taking place between a dashing tennis star by the name of Nevile Strange, and his wealthy wife Audrey. Strange, who has already moved on with another woman, is next in line to inherit the estate of Denouement Hall, and has been invited to spend the holidays there, under the watch of the property’s current owner, Lady Tressilian. Much to the shock of all onlookers, Strange decides to attend the event with both his ex-wife, and his new fling. As a staunch, conservative woman of the old-school, Tressilian is not pleased with this arrangement, and even refers to the trio as a “brood of vipers” before accusing them of making a mockery of the sanctity of marriage.
To make things even more complicated, Tressilian’s employee, Mary, has also brought along a companion that the landlady doesn’t approve of. The man, whom Mary has fallen in love with via the exchange of a series of letters, has a hidden agenda of his own. Tressilian is so frustrated with all of this chaos that she eventually calls in her lawyer, Mr. Treves, and announces that she’ll be updating her will. As you can imagine, this announcement sets off a chain of events that leads to multiple deaths, plenty of tension and a shocking murder mystery that will leave you with your jaw on the floor.
What happens to Lady Tressilian?
Spoiler alert: Lady Tressilian is slain early on in the narrative of Towards Zero, and the murderer is her own nephew, Nevile Strange. Though we don’t immediately learn his motivation for killing her, we slowly find out over the course of the series that Strange has an exceptionally murky past. He apparently killed a man in his youth, and was narrowly saved from prosecution by his uncle, Tressilian’s late husband. It’s obvious that taking out the widow before she can adjust her will makes Strange the sole owner of the estate, though his main motivation for killing his aunt was to free him from his messy divorce. As soon as Tressilian is dead, Strange begins setting the stage to frame Audrey for the murder, because he is scornful of her decision to embroil him in a very public divorce.
Though Audrey is not a murderer, she has some experience with planting evidence and framing people herself, as we learn through a series of flashbacks. The young woman was aware of Strange’s philandering throughout most of their marriage, but she refused to leave him because she wanted his money. Eventually, she realized that she could take a large chunk of Strange’s fortune if he admitted to adultery in court. To squeeze this confession out of him, Audrey stole several personal items from Nevile’s new girlfriend, and planted them in his private vehicle, before alerting the press to their divorce. With hard evidence seemingly binding him, Strange admitted to his infidelity, granting his wife exceptional alimony in the terms of their divorce. The tennis star seemed to take the loss in stride, though he quickly began plotting his revenge.
How does Nevile get caught?
As the plot of Towards Zero continues to thicken, Nevile finds himself committing multiple crimes to cover up his initial murder. The family lawyer, Mr. Teves begins to get wise to his scheme, so Strange resolves to take him out as well. After two consecutive murders go off at the estate, a famed inspector by the name of Leach arrives to investigate. Leach is a World War I veteran, still reeling with the PTSD and survivors guilt associated with his time overseas. At one point in the series, he even contemplates taking his own life, though he is halted by a young orphan named Sylvia. Sylvia was brought to the estate by Mr. Teves, who had vowed to look after her. With Teves gone, she is once again left with nobody, but she remains optimistic, in a way that warms Leach’s heart.
As Leach continues his investigation, he learns that Nevile was drinking at a bar across the river on the day of Tressilian’s murder, granting him an alibi for the attack. Nevile notes that the bar could only be reached via ferry, which wouldn’t have been running during the time he was there. Unfortunately for the tennis player, the detective uncovers evidence that Nevile was once a competitive swimmer, meaning he could have committed the murder and swam across the river in time to establish his alibi. Leach factors this evidence in with the contentious divorce of Nevile and Audrey, and ultimately concludes that the entire affair was a scheme by Strange to implicate his ex-wife.
How does ‘Towards Zero’ end?
In the end, Nevile Strange goes down for the murders of Lady Tressilian and Mr. Teves. Nevile’s new wife, Kay, ultimately swindles him as well, and runs off with Louis, who was invited to the estate by Tressilian’s employee, Mary. Audrey is exonerated of the murder charges, though she loses access to the Strange estate, and ultimately winds up back at square one. A key theme of Towards Zero is that nearly all of the characters are guilty in some way, and that each guilty party will be partially punished. While Kay and Louis appear to get off scot-free, there are subtle hints sprinkled throughout the ending which suggest that they’ll be punished in the future, as Kay openly considers booking a trip on a train across continental Europe – a nod to Agatha Christie’s most popular novel, Murder on the Orient Express.
The morally upstanding characters, on the other hand, are rewarded at the end of the story, with Leach and Sylvia serving as the prime examples. As Towards Zero comes to a close, Leach offers to become the new ward of Sylvia. He also sees a possible romantic interest in the housekeeper of Denouement Hall, Mrs. Barrett. Together, the trio venture back to the mainland, and presumably begin a new blended family. With Tressilian dead and Nevile Strange incarcerated, the estate of Denouement Hall winds up going to the property’s valet, Matthew “Mac” Hutton. Mac plays a minor role through most of the narrative, though it is ultimately revealed that he is the bastard of Tressilian’s late husband, and therefore the only heir. Mac doesn’t get much screen time in the final act, though he can be seen seeing off the final guests at the end, suggesting that he’s staying behind.
