Peaky Blinders season 4: Episode 1 plot summary and first image ahead of autumn release date

Peaky Blinders season 4 is on the horizon and the promotion for it has whirred into action.

The first image (above) from the new series, released today, is pretty useless, seeing the lead characters quite crudely Photoshopped into a Birmingham street, but the BBC also issued a brief but revealing synopsis for the first episode.

It will take place six months after season 3's conclusion and see Tommy Shelby receive a mysterious letter on Christmas Eve telling him the Peaky Blinders are in "danger of annihilation".

The tease continues: "As the enemy closes in, Shelby flees his country house and returns to the streets of Small Heath, Birmingham where a fight for survival begins…."

This all suggests a bit of a hometown return arc for the season. While we've seen the Shelby clan dealing with Russians and considering expansion into America recently, it looks like they'll be forced to go back to where it all began.

This ties in with what creator Steven Knight has always said about Peaky Blinders very much being a Birmingham story, and what Cillian Murphy told Today FM recently:

"In the classic gangster arc, the last season was sort of all about the wealth, the house and all that material stuff.

"This season is sort of a return to the roots. That's about as much as I can reveal."

Adrien Brody and Aidan Gillen join the cast for season 4, which has yet to get a release date more specific than "autumn" nor a trailer, though both can be expected fairly soon.