Cape Town: one of South Africa’s most attractive cities; seen by many as the gateway to the greater African Continent. It’s a hustling, bustling hub of tourist activity that rarely winds down the pace, and certainly never sleeps. Its upmarket, cosmopolitan urban and suburban environments can be compared to the best anywhere in the world and provide a titillating playground for the wealthy, the well-to-do’s and the wannabe’s.

A source of critical foreign earnings and investment capital, Cape Town is chaperoned as much by governmental power mongers as it is by bankers and businessmen from all four corners of the globe. The politics of need and greed are debated heatedly behind closed doors. At street level, the city, and its sprawling, expanding spillovers are watched by a visibly active, albeit ineffective, and overextended police service. As a rule, apart from the odd gang bashing and drug tensions that flare on the distant Cape Flats, the seasons pass relatively uneventfully year after year; nothing really seems to disturb the city’s robust heartbeat or pique its wind-stung, ruddy complexion.

Until this moment.

Just as invisible fingers draw the first chalklines of a new day, a lone car speeds down the deserted, picturesque Heerengracht Avenue, coming to an abrupt halt in front of the statue of city founder and austere Dutchman, Jan van Riebeeck. The rear passenger door flies open and a hunched, naked, male body is tumbled out near the base of the statue.

The tangled limbs resemble those of Italian Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo’s Pietà – beautiful, but contorted and heart wrenching. As the head falls back, a lanyard with an attached USB flash drive is revealed, slung around the neck. The door slams shut, and the car races off . . .

Doug and Barbara Macintyre represent the perfect South African, middle-aged couple. Doug is ruggedly handsome and, aside from several other business endeavours, a renowned wine maker whose exquisite product ranges have achieved considerable international acclaim. Barbara, ordered, intelligent and carefully tailored, is a champion of the oppressed and the marginalised. She has credible political aspirations to be the next Mayor of Cape Town. They live on a Stellenbosch wine estate with their three near-perfect children. Eldest son, Geoffrey, is in his fourth year studying Chemical Engineering at the local university. He is nicknamed ‘Mac’. A boyishly attractive young man, he is working hard to psych himself up sufficiently into admitting his homosexuality to his parents, but is concerned that the ramifications of such a revelation will not only devastate his conservative family, but will also compromise their social standing. Cathy, the middle child, is very much Daddy’s Little Princess. Now in her first year of study for a Bachelor of Arts degree, she is dating the campus heartthrob. Stephen, nicknamed ‘Butch’, is the youngest sibling. He is a promising rugby player barely an elbow away from selection by the coach of the Provincial team – a great honour.

When we first meet Doug Macintyre, he is having a heated argument with his apprentice, Pierre Muller. Pierre, it transpires, is somewhat infatuated with his boss, and displeased with the apparent lack of personal attention and guidance he has been getting. Incensed by this, Doug flies into a rage and terminates Pierre’s employment on the spot. Pierre, shattered, promises revenge before storming out of the office. The next time Pierre is seen, it is as a naked corpse on the streets of Cape Town, surrounded by shocked bystanders and the police. The now characteristic lanyard with the USB flash drive is around his neck. This is the third murder, in what seems to be a series.

Cape Town, the police now suspect, has a serial killer on the loose, one targeting gay men. Each time so far, the flash drive has contained actual video footage of the victim’s death, filmed with a mortician’s precision. The Mayoral office is perturbed beyond measure. Political pressure mounts. The looming public declaration needs to be avoided at all costs. Eyes are on garrulous, impulsive, but deeply troubled detective Penelope De Vos, who is in charge of the case. De Vos is frustrated by the system and the lack of co-operation or support from her superiors. Nobody, it appears, is prepared to share the burden – or take the fall with her, should she fail. The pressure and opposition temper her resolve. Saddled with an underqualified assistant, Billy-Boy Adams, the case seems as lost and clueless as he does.

Billy-Boy, from the rural Transkei region of the Eastern Cape, is intimidated by homosexuality – whether male or female – but later witnesses a sweaty twosome involving the tour guide Sarah Johnston and heiress Monique Anderson that makes him wonder . . .

At the offices of Penelope de Vos, the forensic team reveals that they have found a hair on Pierre’s body – the hair of a dog.

And the breed? It’s a Doberman.

The discovery requires little arithmetic; it’s a straightforward deduction: Pierre worked for Macintyre, Macintyre owns Dobermans. In addition, De Vos and Adams find piles of corroborating evidence in Pierre’s apartment – photographs of the two men, taken at numerous events, and international resorts. A clandestine love affair gone badly sour, perhaps? De Vos also discovers a stash of racy love letters addressed to Pierre, declaring undying love and passion. They are discretely and simply signed: ‘D’ The case is no longer clueless; there is a prime suspect.

Subsequent to a visit by the police, Doug summons the family and announces the unthinkable: he is the prime suspect in the gay serial murder case. The family is shocked into silence.

Meanwhile, two Americans, Julian Neal and Daniel Cadding from California, have come to South Africa for two reasons: firstly, they idolise Nelson Mandela and want to trace the footsteps of his long walk to freedom; secondly, they are planning to get married. They also hit the Cape Town gay scene in a big way.

In one of the trendy city night clubs, they meet Victor Smith, who has a mixed bag of gay friends, but is straight himself, he claims; he is friends with the barman. He comes across as the epitome of cool; he is good-looking, and entirely charming. His feisty girlfriend, Sandra Martin, is an investigative reporter and the presenter of a hard-hitting TV news and actuality programme. Currently, the serial murders are the lead story. She is in the process of moving in with him, but is still a little uncertain. Their relationship is tough and sexually charged. Because she works long hours to prepare her presentations and often deep into the night, Victor seeks company and companionship in the clubs . . .

Over the course of the series, we are drawn more and more into the hearts and the minds of the characters, and deeper and deeper into the rough, spectre-ridden, and often drenched world of a city under threat. Relationships are explored, homosexuality, politics and perceptions are investigated. Ultimately, climactically, the identity of the murderer is revealed . . .

Intelligent, sometimes shocking, but continuously entertaining, FLESH is a sleek, psychological thriller series that guarantees the delivery of a compelling experience to loyal, committed viewers from multiple demographics.

Copyright:  SPACEGROW INVESTMENT HOLDINGS LTD AND FRANZ MARX FILMS (PTY) LTD – 2009