Pit Prop

Luther Lewis, inflexible and autocratic, bestrides his pits like a colossus. He is feared and hated, and grudges go deep. With many pits closed or on short time, his Bryn Ebbw collieries are working full time supplying best-quality steam coal, but it needs only a spark to create industrial chaos.

Tom Morgan, union man, provides the spark, and Dai Crew’s hatred causes the fateful blow to be struck. The resultant calamity is quite unlike the popular conception of a mining disaster and many families become embroiled.

Above ground, non-one knows who, if anyone, has survived â€" and then it becomes known that Lewis himself was one of those below ground at the time of the cave-in.

Whilst the task of getting to survivors begins, the disaster provokes all â€" those safe on the surface and those trapped below â€" to start a process of soul searching. For some it is a wake-up call - others have no soul to search. Behind every face is a story â€" and behind many of these faces are ugly secrets that would do better to stay hid.