Fire investigator Dave Gudsen is assigned a new partner to help capture two arsonists. One has been setting fires with milk jugs filled with gasoline and grease. The other has been taunting officials with a delayed-ignition device that’s burning grocery stores. Dave draws on his experience to write a novel about a heroic arson investigator with unusual insight into his suspect’s mind. To Detective Michelle Calderone, the book reads more like a confession. She begins to wonder whether her partner’s uncanny ability to pinpoint these fires’ origins is because he’s been setting them himself.

Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett star in the Apple TV+ series “Smoke,” inspired by the podcast “Firebug.” The show also features Greg Kinnear, John Leguizamo, and Anna Chlumsky. As Dave closes in on the other arsonist he’s hunting, Michelle secretly collects evidence to learn whether the smoke surrounding her partner will lead to actual fire.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SMOKE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: milkin' it.

For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.

Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.