NEW YORK (CNS) -- A record number of subscribers to the streaming service BBC iPlayer -- more than 8.5 million people -- watched the contemporary mystery "Keeping Faith" when it was released in the United Kingdom in April. Set in a seaside village in Wales, the whodunit was filmed in both English and Welsh and the latter version of the story, "Un Bore Mercher" ("One Wednesday Morning"), was also a popular success.

All eight of the limited series' hourlong episodes became available for streaming May 7 in North America on the British-oriented outlet Acorn. For grown viewers who may have heard the buzz from across the pond, the progressively intriguing and stylishly produced program is worth the wait.

British screenwriter and novelist Matthew Hall created and wrote the series, which opens as 30-something defense attorney Faith Howells (Eve Myles) prepares for an anticipated night on the town with her girlfriends after being on extended maternity leave following the birth of her third child, son Rhodri.

On the surface, Faith's husband Evan (Bradley Freegard) is a model spouse and father who encourages his wife to enjoy her overdue celebration. He gladly makes dinner for his two daughters, 9-year-old Alys (Demi Letherby) and 7-year-old Megan (Lacey Jones), and reads to them at bedtime. (Myles and Freegard are married, which explains their natural chemistry.)

When he steps outside to have a smoke, viewers might sense that something troubles Evan. But when his inebriated wife stumbles home after midnight, he gently accommodates her temporary impairment. The next morning, as Evan leaves for the law practice they share, nothing, from Faith's perspective, seems amiss.

But Evan doesn't arrive at work, and no one can reach him. Faith initially reassures her daughters that Evan is the "kindest man and best daddy, and he will be back." But looking more closely into her husband's life, Faith discovers troubling things about him.

Well behind in his accounts, Evan has created an alter ego in order to move within a dangerous criminal underworld where he has become caught between two rival families of gangsters: the Reardons and the Glynns.

Viewers will need to suspend some disbelief to accept that Faith, a seasoned lawyer, was unaware both of Evan's financial troubles and of his unsavory associations and activities. But, early on, the filmmakers succeed in establishing Faith's fun-loving nature, which helps, in part, explain her obliviousness.

"He was going through hell, and I didn't even notice," Faith ruefully admits.

Her initial reluctance to tell the police what she has discovered about Evan -- she wants to give him the chance to explain what was going on -- winds up casting suspicion on Faith herself and pitting her against an old adversary, Detective Inspector Williams (Eiry Thomas).

Williams, whom she has previously bested in court, is convinced that Faith hired Steve Baldini (Mark Lewis Jones), a client of hers with a long record, to murder her husband so she could collect a hefty insurance payout.

Like any good mystery, "Keeping Faith" takes unexpected turns precisely when viewers sense they finally know where they're headed. Each new layer of deception whets the audience's curiosity all the more, engendering a determination to figure out what the heck is happening.

Murder and other violence, some mild sexuality, including depictions of adultery, and such mature themes as drug trafficking indicate that the program is not suitable for young people. So, too, do the vulgar language and obscene gestures in which some of the characters indulge, though these are contextualized by the extreme circumstances in which they find themselves.

While the whole cast give stellar performances, Myles' tour de force, breakout turn as Faith makes the most lasting impression. This psychologically exhausting role requires Myles to express many universal states of mind and emotions, including denial, grief and rage. With characteristic gestures, such as rubbing her fingers over her cheeks, the actress magically makes these feelings her own.

In a recent interview, Myles revealed she was ready to quit acting. Watching her here, viewers will be glad she didn't.

The second season of "Keeping Faith" is in the works, which should please adult fans still trying to make sense of the first series' doozy of an ending.

- - -

Byrd is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.