This 2012 two-part series “Restless” stars Charlotte Rampling, Michelle Dockery, Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell and Michael Gambon. It is the story of two generations of women who find themselves drawn into espionage. “Restless” might not be a new show, but it is not dated and remains a captivating story.

Atwell stars as Eva Delectorskaya, a young woman in World War II who gets drawn into working for the British Secret Service. Rampling plays Eva in today’s timeline — only her identity is now Sally Gilmartin. After having experienced the war as a spy and taken on different assignments, many of which were cruel and bloody, she has been in hiding in England under a new identity. She knows things that could be disastrous for many people, including her old espionage boss Lucas Romer (Sewell), who is now Lord Romer (Michael Gambon).

Sally has been living a fairly easy life and raised a daughter, Ruth (Dockery), who has a little boy of her own. But things are closing in on her and she finally admits to Ruth that she was a spy. All her assignments are documented and as Ruth reads through the pages, viewers see what happened during the war. This story bounces back and forth between wartime and modern time as the women weave the accounts together and Ruth discovers how brave her mother was to have done what she did in service to her country. But as Sally reminds her, she will never be completely safe, and Ruth is enlisted to help her mother find the man who has the key to her secrets.

“Restless” was nominated for two Emmy awards, including one for Charlotte Rampling. The show originally aired on Sundance TV and is currently streaming on AcornTV as well as Sundance Now.

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