Duggan was a television police-drama series in which Detective Inspector John Duggan (played by John Bach) was given grisly murder cases to solve, set against the scenic backdrop of New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds. Farr composed music for the two pilot episodes in 1997 and 1998, and the 11 one-hour episodes made subsequently.

Time and Tide is based on themes extracted from the music for the series, and features prominent parts for solo violin and marimba. As might be expected, given the subject nature of the television series, much of the music is tense and dark-hued, although contrast is provided in expansive tutti passages evocative of the majestic sweep and grandeur of the Marlborough Sounds.