Written by Vincent O’Connell, this series commissioned by Channel 4 exists as the first two-hour episodes and a series bible.

The Plague Year tells the story of a small coastal town which early one spring is visited by plague. The national government quickly quarantine the town to stop the disease spreading. A 30 foot high steel fence is erected around the town, and gunboats patrol the coastal waters. This is the story of a diverse community responding both to the disease, and to the enforced isolation. It is the story of a community in crisis, with many contemporary references (floods, hurricanes, nuclear meltdown, the impact of terrorism, bird flu, enviromental fears etc), but also aspiring to the status of myth – the story is both specific and universal.

Click here to read an extract from the script