In the telephone directory the entry reads Samaritans, The (Befriend the suicidal), followed by a number. And a million people call the Samaritans every year. Befriending the lonely, desperate, and suicidal requires more than simple sympathy. There are techniques to learn, refined and perfected since The Rev Chad Varan founded the organisation in his study at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 25 years ago.
This documentary follows a group of volunteers who wish to become Samaritans. Over five weeks, in lectures and role-playing, they learn how to deal with the practical joker, and the obscene caller, but most of all the hundreds of thousands at the end of their tether - on the end of the line.