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What could you do if that wildest companion from your youth reappeared? Imagine if you were dying of cancer and had nothing to lose? What if you felt guilty for landing your friend in the clink 10 years ago? If you were the one she got sent to prison and your release was granted to die of cancer in her care? What if you had been a almost unstoppable pair of scam artists who still had a stash of disguises from your prime and a longing to feel some excitement again?

All this and more form the core of Frauds, a new drama featuring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, presents to viewers on a wild, thrilling season-long journey that traces two conwomen determined to pulling off one last job. Similar to an earlier work, Jones co-created this with a writing partner, and it has all the same strengths. Just as a suspense-driven structure served as a backdrop to the psychodramas gradually unveiled, here the elaborate theft the protagonist Roberta (Bert) has carefully planned in prison since her diagnosis is the vehicle for an exploration of friendship, betrayal and love in every variation.

Bert is released into the care of Sam (Whittaker), who resides close by in the Andalucían hills. Remorse prevented her from ever visiting Bert, but she remained nearby and worked no cons without her – “Rather insensitive with you in prison for a job I messed up.” And to prepare for Bert’s, albeit short, life on the outside, she has bought her plenty of new underwear, because there are many ways for women companions to show repentance and a classic example is the acquisition of “a big lady-bra” following ten years of underwire-free prison-issue rubbish.

Sam wants to carry on maintaining her peaceful existence and care for Bert until her passing. Bert possesses different plans. And if your most impulsive companion has other ideas – well, you often find yourself going along. Their old dynamic gradually reasserts itself and her strategies are underway by the time she lays out the full blueprint for the heist. This show experiments with chronology – producing engagement rather than confusion – to give us the set-pieces first and then the rationale. So we observe the duo slipping jewellery and watches from affluent attendees at a memorial service – and bagging a golden crown of thorns because why wouldn’t you if you could? – before removing their hairpieces and turning their mourning clothes inside out to transform into vibrant outfits as they walk confidently down the chapel stairs, awash with adrenaline and assets.

They need the assets to finance the operation. This entails recruiting a forger (with, unbeknown to them, a gambling problem that is likely to draw unneeded scrutiny) in the guise of illusionist’s aide Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who has the technical know-how to help them remove and replace the target painting (a famous surrealist piece at a major museum). They also enlist art enthusiast Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who specialises in works by artists depicting female subjects. She is as ruthless as all the criminals their accomplice and the funeral theft are attracting, including – most perilously of all – their old boss Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a contemporary crime lord who had them running scams for her from their teens. She did not take well to the pair’s assertion of themselves as independent conwomen so unresolved issues remain there.

Plot twists are interspersed with progressively uncovered truths about the duo’s past, so you experience the full enjoyment of a Thomas Crown Affair-ish caper – carried out with immense energy and admirable willingness to skate over rampant absurdities – plus a mesmerisingly intricate portrait of a friendship that is possibly as toxic as Bert’s cancer but equally difficult to eradicate. Jones delivers arguably her best and multifaceted portrayal yet, as the damaged, resentful Bert with her endless quest for thrills to distract from her internal anguish that is unrelated to her medical condition. Whittaker stands with her, delivering excellent acting in a somewhat less flashy role, and together with the creative team they create a fantastically stylish, emotionally rich and highly insightful piece of entertainment that is feminist to its bones without preaching and in every way a triumph. More again, soon, please.