Pat is distraught after David's suicide, attacking first an insensitive Chrissie and then Greg (whom she blames for his death). Beause of this, she is refused permission to attend the funeral, but Paul manages to talk Erica round and she is allowed to attend. Lizzie tells Greg not to blame himself for what happened with Pat, and after a small leaving do he departs for his new life with Karen. Paul recommends Ros spend the maximum time in Solitary. Lizzie is questioned by the police in relation to the aforementioned dying Ralph Campbell, and she thinks they're trying to blame her for the theft of money on the night twenty odd years ago when the shearers died at her hands. However, Erica confides in the staff that the police think Lizzie may be innocent of her original crime after all.
After Lizzie's intensive grilling by the cops, Bea and the girls suspect there's a cover-up going on regarding the old woman, and decide to get to the bottom of it. Chrissie uses her key to get into Erica's office and pinch Lizzie's file, which she passes on to Bea. Paul arranges for journalist Mal James to visit the women, to try and get them interested in making their own newspaper, and they slip the goss on Lizzie to him. James calls Erica for a comment, but she denies there is a cover-up and wants to know where he got his facts. Finally, Lizzie is told the truth: Ralph Campbell confessed on his death bed that he murdered the shearers, not Lizzie. She is shattered. On Paul's recommendation, Ros gets another week in the pound when the VJ comes to the prison. Paul's car is stolen, but when it is recovered the culprit turns out to be his son, Tony.
Lizzie tries to cope with the news she spent the past twenty years in jail for a crime she did not commit and panics at the thought of being released. Bea suggests to her she might get compensation from the Department. Erica hunts for the culprit who leaked the news, and Vera accuses Paul of being to blame. Paul eventually gets a confession from Bea and forces Chrissie to hand her key over. He also arranges for Lizzie to go and stay at the Halfway House when she gets out. Lizzie steals a radio from Vera's locker and smuggles it into Ros in Solitary. The women hold a farewell barbeque for Lizzie in the garden, and have a tearful goodbye. When she gets out of the gate, though, Doreen hasn't turned up to get her and she's left sitting on her suitcase alone. Meanwhile, Paul tries to get through to Tony, who says he's chucking college, to no real avail.
Erica takes an upset Lizzie to the Halfway House in a taxi, but it turns out Doreen didn't know she was coming: Paul forgot to let them know and gets carpeted by Erica. Lizzie has a hard time dealing with the no-booze rule. Doreen stands up her boyfriend Kevin when Lizzie cooks a surprise dinner. Caroline Simpson and her mother Vivienne Williams turn up at the Halfway House seeking refuge, after Vivienne is beaten by her husband. Rhonda says they can't stay and sends them to a refuge, but instead they go home. When Mr Williams pulls a rifle on them, Caroline stabs him in the back with a bread knife. Vera hunts for her missing radio. Ros gets out of Solitary, and asks Paul to return the radio to its owner. He leaves it on the staff room table. Paul and Tony clash again when he says he wants him to finish college, and Tony threatens to move out.
Caroline and Vivienne try to cover-up Brian's murder, thinking the police will never believe it was self defence, and make it look like a burglary. Vivienne is guilt-ridden, especially when she learns Brian had a large life insurance policy. When the cops question them again, Vivienne confesses. Caroline admits to the murder in self-defence, but the police say she will find it hard to prove. The screws wonder how a prisoner got into the staff room to return Vera's radio, and decide there must be a key on the loose. Erica, though, correctly suspects Lizzie of being responsible and drops the matter, even after Paul owns up to returning it. Tony Reid is in trouble when the police raid a friend's house while they are getting a delivery from drug dealer Sharon Gilmour. Doreen has trouble juggling her past and her present, unwilling to tell Kevin where she lives.
Paul bails Tony out, who lies he knew nothing about the drugs. Sharon is unable to raise bail money and is sent to Wentworth. Vera incites trouble between Bea and Sharon; after Sharon tells Bea she is inside on drug charges, they brawl, and Bea gets soup thrown in her face. Sharon is visited by her sister, Judy Bryant, who tells her Tony's charges were dropped. When Sharon realises Paul and Tony are related, she threatens to incriminate Tony unless Paul gets her charges dropped. Caroline and Vivienne arrive in Wentworth, and Vivienne appears to have lost the plot. Caroline is angry that her mother hasn't had proper medical treatment, and refuses to call ex-husband Michael for help. Lizzie suggests Doreen tell Kevin about her past; later, after he drops her some distance from the Halfway House, he follows her home where a passing cop tells him it's a house for ex-crims.
Paul reels from Sharon's demands, and though Tony insists Sharon was lying, Paul soon realises Tony is the liar. Sharon tells Vera the connection between her and Paul, and Vera reports him to Erica. Sharon learns Tony has confessed to the police and she has nothing on them any more. Bea sends Margo, Lil and Bev to duff Sharon up: they attack her in her cell and try to scalp her, but Chrissie gets in the way and is knocked to the floor. She goes into very premature labour and is rushed to hospital. Doreen is talked into phoning in sick so she can go to the country with Kevin, and leaves Lizzie to phone work, posing as her aunt. Unfortunately she can't work the phone and gets roaring drunk. Ros is transferred to J Block so she can continue her studies. Vivienne stops eating and communicating, and later Jim and Caroline find her catatonic.
Margo, Lil and Bev are sent to the pound after the attack on Chrissie and Sharon. Chrissie confirms Bea was behind it, and a disgusted Erica sends Bea to Isolation until further notice. Chrissie wakes from sedation to learn she has a new baby girl, which she names Elizabeth. She learns the baby will need long-term treatment and must remain in hospital after Chrissie goes back to the prison. Doreen gets the sack from work because Lizzie cocked up phoning in sick for her. Lizzie turns up at the prison to see Bea, and though Vera refuses, Jim allows it. Lizzie tells Bea about Caroline & Vivienne being at the Halfway House, who passes it on to Jim, and Caroline admits it. Sharon gets another visit from Judy, and in a bid to shock, reveals to Meg that Judy is not her sister but her girlfriend.
Paul agrees to try and get Bea out of Isolation if she encourages the craft project. She agrees, then sends the word to down tools. Vera is delighted that things have fallen through; Paul is furious, but Bea feigns innocence. Lizzie and Doreen aren't on good terms after Lizzie got Dor sacked. Jim tries to get Lizzie, Doreen and Rhonda to testify on Caroline and Vivienne's behalf. Lizzie and Dor are in the pub with Kevin, and when Jim turns up in uniform to talk to them, Kev realises they've been inside. Dor is upset when he says he doesn't want to see her for a bit. Sharon, Tony and the others arrested in the raid go to court, where Sharon tells a load of lies to get herself off the hook. However, the Judge sees through her and gives her two years, letting everyone else off on a bond.
Sharon is furious to be brought back to Wentworth, and is put in to share with Chrissie Latham. They form something of a partnership, and Sharon gets Judy to smuggle drugs in for them. Before long, she has both Pat and Caroline for customers, and has Bea set up to keep her in Isolation. Sharon gets the women to resume the craft project. Chrissie goes to Isolation and tells Bea that Sharon's in charge of the women now; Bea attacks her through the bars but Sharon comes to the rescue. Later, after lights out, Sharon and Chrissie's relationship turns sexual. Lizzie gives Kevin a drunken piece of her mind for dumping Doreen. Later, he turns up out of the blue to ask Doreen to go for dinner, where he proposes to her. Vera tells Erica she thinks Jim and Caroline are getting too close for comfort. Caroline agrees to let Paul contact Michael, but when he comes to visit they only argue, and Jim escorts him out again.
Doreen announces her engagement, but Lizzie goes to grill Kevin before deciding if she is pleased. Doreen tells Lizzie that when they get married, she is going to come and live with them. Several of the women are high as kites thanks to Sharon's drug dealing, including Pat who ends up collapsing. When the cause of the collapse is known, Erica orders a cell search, but Sharon outfoxes them and avoids being caught. She arranges another drug drop from Judy, this time at the hospital when Chrissie goes to visit the baby. Chrissie isn't keen, but agrees. When she gets into the hospital toilets, though, she is attacked from behind… Caroline gets another visit from Michael, he agrees to testify on her behalf but isn't pleased by her growing relationship with Jim. Paul has more problems with Tony, and falls out with Meg over it. He buys her flowers to apologise, leading Tony to think maybe he fancies her.
Chrissie's "assailant" at the hospital is Judy. Chrissie details the drug drop for her. Sharon seeks muscle from Margo's gang, who want drugs in exchange. Thinking the dope is on Chrissie, they attack and search her, but find nothing. Judy leaves the drugs in a can by the fence, and Sharon wants Pat to go and collect it. Pat tells Bea, who asks her to play along; she then tells the screws someone is using drugs to try and take over. Erica refuses to let Bea out of Isolation. Pat collects some of the drugs and leaves the rest, but tells Sharon there was nothing there. Prompted by Bea, the screws find the can. Bea gives the rest to Erica, who finally relents, and Bea strolls back into the Laundry as Sharon is about to get a bashing from Margo, Lil and Bev. Doreen learns that Kevin's mother is coming to meet her. Caroline is advised to plead guilty to manslaughter by her lawyer.
Bea regains control of the women, with Sharon and Chrissie helpless to resist. Judy comes to visit Sharon, and when Meg searches her she finds drugs on her: she is admitted as a prisoner, exactly as she planned. Sharon is not pleased; Judy warns Chrissie off. Bea asks Pat to plant drugs in Sharon's cell, which are hidden in one of the stuffed toys. The toy ends up in Paul's office, and Chrissie is manipulated into retrieving it. Pat plants the drugs in Sharon's soap dish - and is caught in the act by Judy. Doreen and Lizzie testify at Caroline and Vivienne's committal hearing, which goes poorly, and the women learn they will have to stand trial. They cannot afford to pay their bail, though Michael wants to pay it. Meanwhile, Doreen meets Kevin's disapproving mother when she arrives for a visit.
Judy does nothing to stop Pat, and Sharon is sent to Solitary when the screws find the drugs in the cell. The women are frosty with Bea, thinking she lagged. Chrissie crumbles and tells Erica where the drugs came from. Judy admits she did nothing to stop Sharon being caught, as she felt she needed to be taught a lesson, and that she knew it would keep her away from Chrissie. Caroline refuses to let Michael pay their bail. Jim wants to secretly pay the bail money, and so Paul eventually agrees to be a front for him. Vivienne is signed over to Paul's care and is released. Doreen and Mrs Burns aren't getting along, and then Kevin tells his mother she is an ex-jailbird… Meg goes for dinner with Paul: their night is interrupted when Tony arrives with Sally, who he tells them is pregnant.
Mrs Burns tells Doreen that if she and Kevin marry, she will disown him. Lizzie chases her down the street with a frying pan, but eventually talks Mrs Burns round. Lizzie and Doreen go to celebrate, get wrecked and try to shoplift booze under cover of one of Lizzie's fake turns. However, when Dor walks out of the shop with the booze, the cops show up. The VJ gives Sharon another week in the pound; relations improve between Judy, Chrissie and Bea. Chrissie agrees to stay away from Sharon. When Judy finds out Sharon will be gone another week, she smacks Bea in the face so she can get sent to Solitary to be nearer her. Paul goes to check on Vivienne, but there's no answer, and nobody has seen her for days. Caroline tells him where to find a spare key: he lets himself in and finds her unconscious, having taken an overdose. Paul agrees to let Sally stay a while.
Thanks to Lizzie, Doreen is sent back to Wentworth and faces losing her parole. Lizzie comes to visit, and asks Erica if she can come back too. Kevin finds out that she is back inside and arrives to tell her he'll stick by her, but she refuses and calls off the engagement. Sharon won't talk to Judy in Solitary after Judy tells her she let Bea and Pat frame her. Judy is sentenced to a year, and tells Chrissie she can have Sharon. Bea attacks her and dunks her head in a filled sink. Sharon lies to the police that Judy was behind the whole drugs op on the outside. Tony wants Paul to let Sally stay a while longer. Sally has an abortion; later, her ex, Bill, causes trouble for Tony when she won't go back to him, and provokes him into thumping him. Caroline is distressed to learn of her mother's suicide attempt and wants to go and visit her.
Doreen and Lizzie go to court. Lizzie gets a fine, but Doreen gets more time, even after Kevin speaks in her defence. She thanks him, but she still can't marry him. Back at the Halfway House, Lizzie hits the bottle. Chrissie learns she will be allowed Elizabeth if she stays on her best behaviour. Bea tells her to stay away from Sharon, or she'll never get her baby. When Sharon gets out of the pound, Chrissie shuns her. A jealous, rejected Sharon causes trouble when she sees how close Judy and Doreen are. Judy tries to bash her, but is stopped when Chrissie smashes her over the head with a chair. Erica tells Chrissie she may have to recommend against her getting Elizabeth. Tony gets three months on a prison farm for hitting Bill. Bea wants the women to be payed for the craft things they make. Caroline finally agrees to let Jim pay her bail money.
Sharon refuses to tell the truth about what happened to Judy, despite Chrissie facing the prospect of losing Elizabeth. Chrissie is furious and rejects Sharon. Judy recovers from her injuries and, after Sharon has a fight with Pat, tells Erica the truth about what happened. Erica finally relents and lets Chrissie have her baby. She says goodbye as she moves to Maternity with Elizabeth, leaving Sharon behind. Lizzie goes on another shoplifting spree, including trying to walk out of a shop wearing a fur coat, but nothing is working. Back at the Halfway House, Rhonda finds her stolen goods and calls the cops, delighting Lizzie. Caroline is released on bail to live at the Halfway House, and Jim comes to visit. Paul suggests the women form a drama group. Pat refuses to appeal her sentence.
Aiming to get back to Wentworth, Lizzie refuses to co-operate with the cops, but her elation at getting back inside is crushed when Vera puts her in another block and won't let her see her mates. At the court, she is furious to get off with a small fine, and Erica has to stop her doing anything silly. Lizzie later comes to visit Bea, who tries to talk her out of committing a crime to get put back inside. Jim and Caroline grow closer and closer on the outside, until she discovers he is married. Lizzie tries to warn her off, telling her ex-prisoners and officers aren't allowed to associate. But the next day, Jim is summoned to see Erica, who tells him she had an anonymous call accusing he and Caroline of having an affair. Judy's health begins to cause concern, and she collapses in the garden, but she won't see a doctor. Later, she has pains in her arm. A drama group come to the prison to do a performance, led by ex-convict Ken Pearce, who quickly catches Bea's eye.
Jim admits to visiting Caroline, but dismisses any suggestion they have been having an affair. At home, Leila wants to send Matthew to a private school, but he doesn't have any money to do so after bailing out Caroline and Vivienne. Leila gets a phone call telling her this, and that her husband is seeing Caroline, and she throws Jim out. Lizzie is arrested for shoplifting again. After sneaking into the Magistrate's office at her trial and flushing his memoirs down the loo, she is thrilled to be returned to Wentworth for six months. Judy's health worries continue, but the sister can't do anything to help unless she has the tests she's refusing. Bea is smitten with Ken, as the women get the drama bug. Pat continues to refuse an appeal, and learns that Andrew has run away from the home again.
There's trouble for the Fletchers and Meg when Geoff Butler returns, his trial looming. He tries to force Meg into changing her testimony, and lets himself into the Fletcher house to terrify Leila. Jim and Caroline's relationship hots up, to Michael's disgust, and he tries to pay Jim to stop seeing her. At the trial, Geoff gets off on a bond and is later approached by Michael, who suggests they team up to get back at Jim. Pat finally agrees to appeal her sentence after seeing the recaptured Andrew. Judy confides in Doreen about her past, and as her pains worsen she tells Sharon she's scared because her mother died young of a heart attack. Bea grows closer to Ken, while the drama class ends with Doreen and Sharon brawling. A stray dog is found in the garden, so Doreen and Lizzie try to hide it in the prison. Vera keeps finding it and taking it away. She tells them she's taking it to the RSPCA, but changes her mind and, to Meg's surprise, decides to keep it herself.
Geoff and Michael embark on their plan to split up Caroline and Jim. This involves terrifying the living daylights out of Leila, by plaguing her with threatening phone calls and lurking outside her house. She tries to tell Jim how scared she is, but Caroline turns up and interrupts them. Late at night, Leila has a brick thrown through her window. Greg Miller returns to town for Pat's appeal, and Erica asks him to have a word with Judy Bryant. She wants him to talk her into having tests done after she collapses again. Judy tells him of her fears that she'll die in surgery, and Greg tells Sharon she needs to talk her into it or she'll die. Lizzie is not impressed to learn that Vera has given the stray dog a home, but gives her a coat for the dog anyway. To Vera's dismay, the dog's real owner claims it while they're out for a walk in the park. There's strong opposition towards the drama group being reinstated, but Erica wants it to go ahead, and needs Bea to make it work.
A terrified Leila is convinced Geoff has been terrorizing, but he has an alibi for the brick through her window: Meg and Greg saw him in a bar at the time. In fact, it was Michael who did it. The harrassment continues when Leila has graffiti sprayed across her lounge room doors. Meanwhile, Geoff is also lurking around outside the halfway house and un-nerving Caroline. Jim threatens Michael to leave them all alone. Meanwhile, Geoff suggests they plant drugs on Jim and call the cops, and wants Michael to deliver them to Jim's hotel. Michael is blissfully unaware that the parcel is, in fact, a home made bomb. Attempting to scare Judy into having her tests done, Lizzie fakes a turn during the drama class. Greg realises she is faking, but finally Judy agrees to go for tests at the hospital. Ken tries to whip up the women's enthusiasm in Shakespeare (but he could be wasting his time, let's face it.) Pat is negative about the chances of her appeal being successful.
Bea is furious, thinking Ken has made a fool of her, and calls a halt to the drama class. Paul desperately tries to salvage the situation, and engineers a meeting between them. Ken tells her the blonde girl was his daughter, Debbie, and things get back on track. Pat has one last visit from her kids before her appeal, and tries to think positive. Leila's living on her nerves, and has a blazing row with Jim in front of the kids. Jim doesn't think either Geoff or Michael is responsible; Caroline also gets a threatening letter. With the police circling, Geoff instructs Michael to deliver the parcel to Jim's hotel room. He doesn't get that far, and has to leave it at the reception. Later, as Jim rests in his room, Leila and the boys turn up at the hotel to visit, and collect the parcel from reception for him. As Nicholas and Matthew wrestle with the parcel outside Jim's room, the bomb explodes.
A stunned Jim reels after the explosion: the boys are dead, and Leila is critically injured. Michael remains unaware that the parcel was a bomb, and Geoff demands payment from him for setting Jim up. As he waits for Michael outside the bank, Geoff hears the news of the explosion on the radio, and is furious to discover Jim is not dead. He pulls a gun on Michael and takes him to a house. Jim lashes out at Caroline, blaming her for the explosion; soon after, they learn Leila has also died. A grieving Jim takes some sleeping pills and booze and passes out, as Geoff lets himself into his house. At Pat's appeal, Greg testifies in her defence, and her sentence is reduced. As a result, her parole is rushed through, and she is released, with her kids waiting at the gates for an emotional reunion. Judy learns that she will need a pacemaker. Ken tells Bea that he's worried about Debbie going off the rails, and getting in with a bad lot.
Geoff is interrupted in the process of preparing to shoot Jim by reporters at the door, and flees. He returns to Michael, who he has tied up in the empty house, and rants a lot. He plans to frame Michael for killing Jim, and then fake Michael's suicide. After he leaves, Michael manages to free himself from his bonds and turns up at the halfway house, where he spills the beans to Caroline. Meanwhile, Geoff turns up at Leila's funeral. Debbie's visit to the prison is approved, despite Vera's strenuous objections. Debbie is not impressed, being inducted and treated like a regular criminal. After a string of group sessions with the women though, and hearing some of their sad tales, she seems to be coming round. Meanwhile, Lizzie turns religious when she is befriended by Salvation Army Captain Barton, and gets a day out with the Salvos. She spends time collecting for them, but predictably steals as much as she puts in the tin.
As the cops hunt for Geoff, Michael is arrested and carted off to a psychiatric hospital. Geoff outsmarts the police and escapes from his hideout, and Jim arrives home to find him waiting for him. As a confrontation develops, Geoff is finally shot dead by a police marksman. Kerry Vincent arrives in Wentworth, transferred from Barnhurst. She is an artist, and gets a cell of her own so she can paint, and the women are sceptical of her. The money Lizzie stole from the Salvation Army is found on her when she returns; she loses her buyup and is wracked with guilt. However, Captain Barton is amused and forgives her. She embarks on a path of morality, announcing she is giving up smoking, and lecturing the other women. Bea's plan to put Debbie on the straight and narrow appears to have worked - she goes back to live with her mother. Judy meets with Captain Barton, and angrily tells him she doesn't believe in God.
Kerry and the other women come to an understanding, and Bea hints to her that Sharon ruined her painting. Vera is furious with Kerry after David's comments at the exhibition that she bullied her into giving her the painting. She is called to Erica's office to explain herself, and Erica gives her the benefit of the doubt. However, an angry Kerry wrongly assumes Vera stole her lightbulb and tells the Governor that she did indeed bully her. Erica tells Vera she has no choice but to suspend her until the matter is investigated. Doreen is hassled by some men who want to offer her a substantial sum of money for her mother's house. She's not keen to sell, and wants Kevin's advice. Kevin proposes to her again, and she accepts. Judy has had enough of Sharon and, after one argument too many, tells her that their relationship is over. Captain Barton convinces Lizzie to try and look for her daughter, Marcia. Jim returns to work.
Vera is gutted following her suspension. Jock tells her the truth will come out eventually; next day, he threatens Kerry into withdrawing her allegations. Doreen and Kevin quickly marry in the prison garden, with Bea, Lizzie, Meg and Erica present. Meanwhile, Jock offers to pressure Doreen into selling her mother's house, and slaps her, but is overheard by Sharon, who suggests he buy her silence. Captain Barton informs Lizzie he has found Marcia. A scheme is cooked up to give Bea and Ken some private time together, under cover of an art class run by Kerry. Bea is to model for the artists, but switches with Judy, whose face is covered by a veil. Unfortunately Sharon blows the gaff, and Vera catches Bea and Ken in the storeroom together. Erica angrily takes away Kerry's painting priveleges, and bans Ken from Wentworth entirely. The women know Sharon was to blame - though Erica says that if anything happens to her, Bea will be blamed.
There's a lockdown in Wentworth following Sharon's death, and a griefstricken Judy blames Bea for killing her, but she is as much a suspect as Bea is. She threatens to have her revenge, and is moved to Isolation out of the way. Sharon's death is eventually ruled as an accident, but nobody believes that. Meanwhile, the Department are fed up with Kerry's constant press coverage, and insist on her early parole. One of the conditions placed, though, is that she has nothing more to do with David Austin. Lizzie doesn't know whether to meet the woman claiming to be Marcia. Doreen is terrified as Jock puts on the pressure to sell the house. Kevin visits and tells her he doesn't want her to, but Jock is present, and prevents her whispering to Kev. He plants contraband in her cell, and reports to Jim that he thinks Kevin passed her something. After a cell search, Dor ends up in the pound.
Prostitute Helen Smart is admitted to Wentworth and turns out to be an old friend of Kerry's. She recognizes Jock and says he's got a bad reputation. Kerry is released but she struggles to cope without David around. Judy is refused permission to go to Sharon's funeral. Jock is still bullying Doreen; Kevin discovers the men intent on buying Alice's house intend to knock it down. Doreen finally agrees to the sale. Kevin turns up at the prison, but isn't allowed to see Doreen as she's still in Solitary, so he sees Bea. Helen, on tray duty, offers to be a go-between and pass messages to her. Helen is released and passes on Doreen's message to Kevin that she had to sell or ""he would have killed me"". Doreen tells Judy that Bea didn't kill Sharon, but refuses to say who did. However, Jude pieces it together and confronts Jock. Vera is also beginning to have her suspicions.
Vera keeps quiet over Jock when he reminds her how he helped her with Kerry, but later overhears Judy accusing Jock of killing Sharon, and finally reports him. Paul tells the solicitor after Doreen's house that she isn't selling, and threatens to report him to the police. The police question Jock about the murder, and he is suspended. Before he leaves, Jock gleefully admits to Judy that he killed Sharon, and she slaps him. Erica tells Judy they have no real proof that Jock is the killer, apart from Judy's sayso. An angry Judy wants Bea's help to ensure Jock doesn't get away with murder. Lizzie is just getting to know Marcia and Josie when Marcia announces they are leaving as they can't afford to stay in the city any longer. Lizzie wants to loan them money, but doesn't have any until her compo comes through, so Doreen agrees to let them stay in her house. Kerry and David defy the court order that they are not to see each other, and end up having sex.
Judy mulls her options to protest against Sharon's death, and they decide to stage a strike in their cells. As some of the women hoard food, the verdict from Sharon's inquest comes back - accidental death. The women announce they're staging a sit-in in the Rec Room until the Department agree to a fair inquiry into the murder. Leanne Burke arrives in Wentworth and most of the women are disapproving of her thanks to Noeline's reputation. Leanne kicks up a stink about being in a single cell, and sets fire to it in the middle of the night. She is put in to share with Judy, but Jim makes snide remarks about Judy's interest in her. Leanne tells Judy she doesn't care, and asks to work with Jude in the garden. Paul wrestles over whether to report Kerry for violating her parole, but decides against it. Kerry sees David having dinner with another woman and throws a drink over her in a jealous rage. Back home, Kerry invites Helen Smart over and they hit the bottle.
Erica tries to talk the prisoners out of the Rec Room, and tells them Jock is finished in the prison service. Vera cuts the power, and they spend an uncomfortable night in the dark. Next morning, they give up the protest. Noeline comes to visit Leanne and she asks her to pass on a message to the press that they're staging a demo in the garden. Predictably, Noeline can't be trusted and tells Vera. The women are confined to the building as a result. Another scheme has to be thought up, and this time it's violent. Judy, Margo and Lizzie take Erica and Meg hostage in the Governor's office with a garden fork. The other women ambush Vera in the Laundry, strip her and tie her up. When Jim finds her, the women are gone, and heading for the roof with her keys. Margo and Lizzie are left in charge of Meg and Erica, but Lizzie gets drunk on Erica's booze.
Everyone at the prison is stunned by Leanne's death, bringing a sudden halt to the demo. The police go to Noeline's work to tell her the news, only to find she's been pinching money from the workers since she started there. She gets six months and arrives back in Wentworth - neither prisoners nor officers are pleased to see her. Noeline warns that she blames Bea for her daughter's death, but Judy tries to take the blame. She assumes the role of Noeline's protector, perhaps as a way to allieviate her guilt over Leanne's death. Lizzie is offered forty grand in compensation. Soon after, Marcia tells Lizzie that Josie needs an operation on her leg, but it will cost too much money. Paul, Bea and Doreen's fears grow that Marcia is a fraud, out to get Lizzie's compo. Kerry's behaviour grows more erratic, and Paul warns that if she and David continue seeing each other, she will end up back in jail.
Thinking she has killed David, Kerry flees from the gallery and disappears. David is very much alive, but Paul has no luck tracking her down, and has to report her. Meanwhile, Kerry seeks out Helen's help, gets hold of some pills, swigs them down with booze, and passes out. David finds her, but instead of getting help, he steals some of her paintings. Paul does some detective work to find out if Marcia is a fraud. Lizzie tells Marcia she's going to use her compo to pay for Josie's operation, but Bea gets a message out threatening her. Marcia realises the gig is up, and they take off. Now with proof, Paul has to tell Lizzie that Marcia is not her daughter; later she confides in Bea that she knew all along. Noeline flaunts Judy's backing in Bea's face, and gets up everyone's noses. Erica tries to warn Judy to keep away from Noeline, to no avail. Noeline feeds Jude a sob story about needing money for her family, and Judy hints at where she'll find Margo's stash from her book.
Helen finds Kerry out cold but alive, and calls Paul to get help. Paul recommends Kerry go to a sanitorium for treatment, rather than back to jail. Meanwhile David, thinking she is dead, tries to buy a painting Kerry gave to Doreen. Paul and Erica con David into handing over a large sum of money for it, then announce Kerry is still alive. Marcia turns up at Wentworth to tell Lizzie the truth, that her real name is Ellen and she knew the real Marcia, who died some years ago. Lizzie tells them that as far as she is concerned, they are her family now, and she's giving them the cash for the op anyway. Meg moves into a new flat, and meets her neighbour, young mother Gail Summers, who is struggling to cope with her screaming children. Noeline, the only one with buyup after the riot, sells fags to the other women at extortionate prices. She manages to break into the storeroom to steal supplies, and gets Judy to keep watch.
The women embark on a ridiculous attempt to cover up Noeline's absence until they can unlock her from the store room in the morning. This also includes a fake food poisoning bout as a diversion while Judy retrieves her. Bea wants to know why Judy is helping Noeline, and she says she was going to take the money herself as she is planning to escape. Noeline lags on the women's fake poisoning to Erica and the screws carry out a search. Meanwhile, Judy uses Noeline to lead her to Margo's money, but Margo catches Judy out. Meg gets involved with Gail's problems, to Vera's disgust. She suspects that Gail's husband Tim is beating the children. Later one of the kids, Jason, ends up in hospital, and Meg tells the doctor she thinks Tim is abusive. Factory owner Andrew Reynolds approaches Erica about a work release programme at his factory. Predictably, Vera argues against the scheme, but Erica is keen and tours the factory.
The work release is to go ahead, to the women's delight. The party of women who are to go initially includes Bea, Doreen and Judy but not, to her annoyance, Lizzie. Judy suspects Margo's money may be in the kitchen, but when Noeline goes there to hunt for it, she ends up getting thrown in the skip by Margo and her heavies. Vera and Jim find her, and think she was trying to escape. She loses her buyup. Noeline's horse wins and Margo has to pay her out a lot of cash. Vera is suspicious that Lizzie still has cigarettes, and Noeline suggests she and Doreen have been pinching from the store room. She has planted items in their cell, and they are found by the screws in a cell search. Bea is furious at Noeline and thumps her, before grassing her into Erica. Bea and Noeline are both sent to the pound, and Bea taken off the work release. Meg seeks Paul's advice about Gail Summers.
The work release programme gets underway, with Erica warning dire consequences for anyone who screws it up. The women meet sleazy foreman Vince Talbot, and cool-as-a-cucumber accountant Kay White. Doreen suspects Judy is going to take the chance to escape from the factory. Meanwhile, Kay seems to have the gambling bug and gets involved with Margo's book, while Andrew Reynolds shows a more than professional interest in Erica. Gail arrives in Wentworth on remand, and is advised not to tell the women why she's really inside. She gets a visit from Tim, who informs her he is divorcing her and has been granted custody of the kids. She ends up telling Lizzie and Doreen the truth about her crime, who are horrified. Noeline gets word that her younger kids are to be put into a home, and she decides to smuggle her race winnings out to delay this.
There's trouble at the factory involving the delivery drivers, and Doreen is keen to get Kevin the delivery contract when she hears it's up for tender. She needs to find out the lowest bid so Kev can beat it. However, Noeline overhears all this. The other women torment Gail for abusing her children, until Judy intervenes and sticks up for her. Noeline manipulates her into trusting her, despite Judy's warnings that Noeline is trouble. Noeline suggests that the screws will protect Gail if she lags on Doreen about the contract. When her cell is trashed, that's exactly what she does. The women wonder who the lagger is - Noeline or Gail? Meanwhile, Doreen's troubles get even worse when Vince Talbot traps her in the store cupboard and rapes her. Erica seems to be softening towards Andrew Reynolds. Noeline is given a chance to go to work at the factory. Tony Reid is released from the prison farm, but finds it hard to readjust to his old life.
Doreen struggles to cope after being raped by Vince, and desperately tries to get taken off the work release scheme, but Erica twigs something's going on and refuses to let her, even after she trashes a cell and attacks Noeline. She confides in Judy about what happened, and she promises to look out for her. Erica's relationship with Andrew Reynolds develops until he admits to her he is married. Noeline is allowed to go on work release; Bea gets out of the pound and is told that if she stays away from Gail she may get to go too. Margo is having trouble covering her bets thanks to Kay's gambling bug. Tony struggles to find a job, and Meg suggests he use a false name to get employment.
At the factory, Noeline complains that her machine doesn't work, but Vince is more interested in Doreen. Meg is suprised to see letters in the mail for both Judy and Bea. Judy volunteers to go to the store room when Vince has his eye on Doreen and she uses the opportunity to issue a warning that she knows what he's up to and she isn't afraid of anything he can do to her. Bea and the other women torment Gail in the laundry, but Lizzie is beginning to have sympathy for her. Kay tries to put off paying her debts to Margo, and shrugs off Margo's threats, asking her which of the two of them is more likely to believed. Gail asks Paul to find out who is looking after her children. Vince wants to know what Doreen has told Judy and warns her to keep quiet in future. Meg tells Paul there is a letter for Judy from her sister saying their father is ill and he wants her to go and see him. Bea also gets a letter - from Ken.
Erica tells Meg and Vera that the doctors think Judy's heart condition was brought on by electrical interference from the driers. Meg passes on the information in Judy's letter about her father and Erica is displeased not to have been told before. Bea warns all the women, including Doreen, not to mess up the work release program. Gail is reduced to tears by the women's taunts. Erica finds out that Meg hasn't told her that she's Gail's next door neighbour and says she wants all information on prisoners to be passed to her directly in future. Still in her policewoman's uniform, Judy phones an ex-lover, and she is invited to stay there while her husband is away on business for a few days. Vera goes straight to Gail and tells her that the children have been put in a home. Meg is appalled by the spitefulness of it and tells Vera so.
Kay promises to keep Vera occupied to give Noeline time to get the bolt of cloth out of the tea room window . Andrew follows Kay's tip-off and is waiting outside to catch Noeline's brother collecting the cloth. When Vera hears of the incident, she immediately cancels the scheme and takes the women back to Wentworth. Pauline gives Judy the last $100 she needs for the passport but the Weasel has heard about Judy's escape on the radio and works out he can ask double his price for a "urgent" job. Erica reprimands Vera for exceeding her authority by cancelling the work release without asking Erica's permission first. Bea sees Margo and Mouse waiting to see the Governor and finds out that it was Noeline's fault the scheme was cancelled. Noeline tries to put the blame on Kay, saying she was already stealing material from the factory and involved her in the scheme. Erica doesn't believe her and sends Noeline to solitary.
Judy is brought back to Wentworth (and claims sarcastically to Jim that she's Doris Day) charged with escaping, assault on a policewoman, stealing police property (the uniform, which she is still wearing) and impersonating a police officer. Jim and Vera notice she is also carrying a large amount of money that the police have not noticed, so Jim logs it in as Judy's own property even though Judy admits she got it through extortion. Judy at first refuses to go into the solitary cell, but Jim manages to persuade her. As she sits in the cell her profile undergoes some unusual video effect . Next morning, Erica sees Judy and offers to help, but Judy tells her it's too late as she should have done something earlier to fix Jock Stewart. Bea makes herself known to Andrew Reynolds and Vince on her first day at the factory. Andrew offers Bea a private deal to put to the other women: they will be paid an extra 10 dollars a week each for making non-Government clothing on the side.
Erica phones Andrew to let him know she won't let him take advantage of her or the women, though she does not cancel the project entirely. Doreen wonders why Lizzie has sweets instead of fags in her buyup. Captain Barton asks Bea what she thinks of the idea of a birthday party for Lizzie: Bea suggests that they keep it quiet and make it a surprise party. Jim clashes with Erica when he assumes the factory project has been cancelled. Hazel Crowe takes Andrew out onto the fire escape to discuss the issue of the prison workers: she lays down a list of conditions and threatens a strike knowing he can't afford to risk it. Meg takes Lizzie out of the laundry at Bea's request so she doesn't find out about the arrangements for the party. Jim finds Lizzie moping in her cell alone: their conversation prompts Lizzie to a flashback to Edie's death, but she looks up to find she's addressing her sob story to empty air as Jim has walked away.
Andrew accuses Kay of stealing and fiddling the books. When she offers to pay him back with her gambling winnings, he declines and asks her what would have happened if she had lost. Vince stops Kay leaving the office and Andrew phones the police. Erica tells Vera and Jim that the scheme is over, but the newspaper article reporting Kay White's arrest next morning gives Vera further excuse to spread insinuations about Erica. After the women have also seen the paper, Bea assumes that Kay should be blamed for the end of the work release, and Doreen wonders if Noeline might have been right after all to claim that she was framed by Kay. The new social worker, Agnes Forster, arrives for her first day at work in a battered old car, which she parks in Erica's space and then leaves Erica with a heavy kit bag to carry inside for her. Ted Douglas is already waiting for Erica to discuss Vera's report.
Jim and Vera catch Kay trying to force Margo to taste her food. Margo vows she'll get back at Kay. Erica admits to Meg that she had been lying about her relationship with Andrew, but declares she knew nothing at all about the fraud. Jim reports the incident with Margo and warns Erica that the women will go to any lengths to pay Kay back for losing the factory work project. Doreen is off her food. Judy defends Kay, pointing out that she helped her escape by getting a dress from the factory. Vera wants to know how Kay can possibly owe Margo money when she's been in isolation the whole time. Judy overhears Vera pressuring Kay and tells Kay that for her own sake she should stay in solitary as long as she can. When Meg announces that the women have been given permission to have a barbecue, Bea seems keen for Kay to attend and tells Judy she should make it up to Kay on behalf of all the women. Vera takes Kay to see Agnes, but she's already gone home.
Erica tells the women they will all lose seven day's remission as punishment for the attack on Vince. Bea agrees with Margo that it must have been Kay who lagged on them. Judy suggests that the best way to get back at Kay might be to undermine her claim to be cured of her gambling addiction. Bea tells Margo she is going to give Kay credit and takes a collection to give her the funds to do so. Lizzie calls Agnes a lazy bitch when she finds she hasn't done anything about her application to visit Josie in hospital. Margo and Judy try to tempt Kay into laying a bet by discussing forthcoming races in front of her, but she claims not be interested. Erica promises Lizzie she will arrange for her to visit Josie. Vera finds Agnes slumped across her desk in her office and raises the alarm, but when Jim goes to check on her he find she has only fallen asleep.
Kevin thinks he is the father of Doreen's baby and is delighted with the news. Meanwhile Bea is advising Doreen to go to Erica if Agnes won't help her arrange the abortion. Erica asks Agnes why she's allowed Doreen a second visit from Kevin and tries to push her into coming up with some ideas to justify her salary. Kevin meets Doreen in the garden: though she hedges at first, she eventually admits that Kevin is not the father of her baby and tells Kevin and Meg that Vince raped her. Kevin insists that she must report it to the police. Kay places a bet with Margo using some money she'd hidden away for emergencies. Doreen tells Bea that Agnes had passed on information about her pregnancy, and Bea approves of Kevin's decision to go the police. Erica has to calm Kevin down, and later at dinner with Meg she admits that she feels personally responsible for Doreen's plight.
Kevin realises that Doreen intended to let him think the baby was his, and he is equally appalled at the thought that she let someone else have sex with her to try to get him a job. Kay tries to make peace with Margo as she hopes not to be returning after her trial. Doreen plans to escape in order to be able to talk to Kevin again, and Judy offers to go with her to look after her. Bea asks Meg to put in a word in support of Doreen getting day release, but Erica tells Meg she won't be able to get approval in time. Kay realises that Judy is not intending to return after her escape, as she has told Bea she would. Lizzie's singing makes the officers leave the shower block to give the women time to finalise the escape plan. Kay offers to give her clothes to be adapted as a disguise, and Bea insists that both Doreen and Judy have to be back by 4 o'clock. Erica tries to persuade Kevin not to give up on Doreen and invites him to talk to Doreen in her office at half past twelve.
Bea blames herself for not noticing anything wrong with Doreen. Meg tells Lizzie that her visit to see Josie has been arranged, but Bea is suspicious that something must be wrong as permission was granted unusually quickly. Judy tells Margo to get lost when she comes to Kay wanting her to place a bet. Ted comes to see Erica, and she repeats her demand that Agnes must go, and threatens to withdraw her from working contact with the prisoners. Ellen comes to collect Lizzie and tells her that the doctors are giving Josie tests for bone marrow disease. A conversation with Jim convinces Agnes she must resign and she phones Erica to tell her so. Jim goes straight to Erica's office accusing her of victimising Agnes, not realising that Ted Douglas is in the office too. Jim is later summoned to see Ted in Erica's office and told he can no longer be considered for the Governorship of Barnhurst after his outburst against Erica.
Vera takes Kay to her cell and gives her five minutes to make her bed. Doreen and Lizzie compare the size of their bank balances. Margo holds onto Linda's "commission", as she's obviously not tough enough to be an effective bookie's runner and hasn't made very much. Vera comes back to check on Kay's hospital corners and makes her start all over again, but she is distracted by the sound of Bea threatening one of the background prisoners in the corridor outside for trying to bring drugs in. Vera drops a hint to Kay that she should spy on Bea and find out what's going on. Bea objects when Vera brings Kay to the laundry to work, but Vera assigns Doreen to look after her. Linda wants her money from Margo immediately as she's got a visitor and Bea makes Margo pay up. Linda's visitors are her son Danny and his aunt Sheila, who seems to be giving the kid a hard time: Linda passes Danny the money. Kay reports to Vera that she'd tried to provoke a fight with Bea and she'd backed off.
Bea barricades Kay's cell door to ensure that they can have a "private chat". When Kay denies having any drugs, Bea punches her on the nose, followed by an extended grapple on the floor. The fight is broken up by Vera and Meg. Kay's cell is searched but nothing is found. Meg is surprised when Kay asks to go straight back to the women. Bea won't give Erica the full details of Kay's drug dealing, so Erica sends her to solitary to await the VJ. After getting patched up by the sister , Kay walks back into the rec room, bruised but unbowed. Lizzie finds out from Kay what has happened to Bea, but after that no-one speaks to her. Hazel follows her out of the rec room wanting to buy drugs, but Kay says she needs cash to set up a deal and asks Hazel to place a bet for her with Margo, who earlier refused to deal with Margo directly.
Vera tells Tracey that covering up for her friend isn't going to do her any good, and drops dark hints about what Bea might do to her, but Tracey continues to protest her innocence. Jim remembers Danny mentioning that he sometimes stayed with a friend and is determined to find the boy, but Meg warns him to be careful. Kay tries to tempt Phyllis to place a bet with her rather than with Margo by offering double the usual pay out to her first five punters. Vera puts Kay to work in the rec room where Tracey is writing a letter to her father, hoping that Kay will be able to get Tracey to reveal her contacts. Kay has her own agenda: she starts off frightening Tracey with what could happen to her and hints that if Tracey can get money in, she will be able to buy protection for both of them. Tracey's father Bob Morris arrives to visit her, but Vera wants to keep him in reception until she has phoned Inspector Grace to get his permission.
Judy finds Tracey crying in her cell and tries to comfort her. Tracey asks her to talk to Bea and explain that she was set up. She also tells Judy about the threats sent in via Kath. Lizzie and Judy plot to stop Kay taking over as top dog and decide to undermine her gambling racket. Linda tells them she's only working for Kay because she needs the money, but also partly because she's scared of her. Vera gets a threatening phone call while she is on night duty telling her to lay off Tracey. Jim gives Danny a key to get back into his flat after school. Vera tries to prove she isn't scared by the threats by continuing to persecute Tracey. Doreen throws a jealous tantrum when she overhears Judy and Lizzie expressing concern about Tracey. Vera brushes off Meg's opinion that she should tell the police about the threat, and says she suspects that Tracey's father was behind it. Doreen attacks Officer Maguire for following her around .
Judy explains to the women that they might be able to pull off a similar trick to the one in "The Sting" by fixing the newspapers and betting on a race which has already been run, so Kay can't possibly win and will have to pay out. Doreen snubs Lizzie when she comes to try to cheer her up. Linda has been successful for once and brings Kay back large payment from bets. Inspector Grace visits Vera in hospital: she tells him she's had enough and won't help the police any more. Judy tells the women she can get advance news of a country greyhound race and will ask Tracey to tape it and play it back as if it were a live broadcast. Vera returns to work, telling Meg she refuses to be intimidated. Tracey hints to Judy that she was responsible for Vera getting attacked. Erica is outraged that Inspector Grace asked Vera to spy on Tracey. Lizzie gets the evening papers from Meg, asking if she can deliver them herself, which she does, after removing all the racing pages.
Lizzie tells Meg she thinks Kay must be dead, and gives a very unconvincing version of her "self-defence" alibi. Meg is not convinced and tells Jim she thinks it is completely out of character for Lizzie to be violent. Lizzie explains the whole "sting" operation to Erica, and Erica suprisingly says she believes the self-defence story and confines Lizzie to her cell rather than sending her to solitary. Judy blames herself for yet another death when Linda comes to tell the women the news about Kay. Doreen thinks Linda should go to Erica and take the blame. Tracey tells Kath she's being released and is very confident in Joe, saying that he would never believe she had informed on him. The women keep quiet at first when Erica appeals for any information which could help Lizzie, but later Judy changes her mind when told that Kay actually isn't dead, only unconscious. Bob is worried that Tracey will be in grave danger on the outside, and he refuses to pay the bail to get her out.
Tracey delivers a well-aimed knee to the groin area of one of the men, and gets away from them, though she runs straight into a gun battle between two thugs and the men who are chasing her, who turn out to be police officers. Doreen is completely despondent and tells Lizzie she's doesn't think she'll ever amount to anything. Inspector Grace tells Bob that Tracey is going back to Wentworth, as he's taking her into "protective custody" (?) after she has given him the names of Joe's friends. Meg is in reception when Tracey is brought back, and learns that Tracey is worried above all by Bea's imminent release from solitary, but Bea has already been released and is in the laundry catching up with the news. Erica is a little sniffy when Tracey alludes to other suspicious deaths in Wentworth before Kay, and tells her that is precisely why she should tell an officer if she is threatened.
After hearing the gunfire, the prisoner discuss who may have been shot. Jim tries to call Vera back to work, but she claims the doctor has given her something to relax her, though it sounds more like she's taken a half bottle of whisky already. After being locked in their cells, Bea and the others decide it must have been Tracey who was shot, but Tracey shouts out to them that it was Meg. Jim reports to Erica that Meg is not as seriously hurt as she might have been, as the bullet passed straight through her. Erica increases security and bans outdoor exercise periods. When interviewed by Erica, Tracey tells her that Bea deliberately injured Kath with the steam press to put her out of action. This turns Bea against Tracey again, but Judy suggests they need do something to make Tracey trust them all again. Vera goes to visit Meg in hospital, but is more concerned to tell Meg of her own worries that she's made a fool of herself in front of Jim by picking up a complete stranger.
Erica warns Doreen that if her story is true, she could be charged herself along with Lizzie, Bea and others with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Doreen is taken to an interview room to prevent her taking to Lizzie until Erica has got her reaction to Doreen's allegations. Jim is annoyed to be called back after signing out to take Lizzie to Erica's office. Bea and Lizzie wonder why Doreen's away so long, and Lizzie wonders if it's to do with their investments, though she soon finds out it isn't. She sticks to her story and gets Jim to back her up by asking if he saw Linda anywhere near the cell. When told to wait outside, Lizzie puts her ear to the door and hears Jim say that he'll go to see Linda on his way to work next day. When Lizzie and Bea criticise Doreen's actions, she admits it's only because she was scared to live on her own. Lizzie says she hopes Linda sticks to the story or they'll all be in a lot of trouble.
Lizzie is welcomed back to Wentworth by Vera with her usual compassion: Vera tells her she'll die a criminal, and Lizzie retorts that she won't have long to wait to see that for herself. Jim thinks Lizzie's sentence was very harsh, and the other women are also appalled, Judy in particular urging Lizzie to appeal. Doreen reads baby books to Chrissie and Jane in maternity, though they are already beginning to resent her interference. Lizzie warns Doreen to keep her mouth shut about the verdict, or risk getting the others who testified charged with perjury. Vera visits Meg at home and volunteers to cook a meal for them both, after helping herself to a (very) large whisky. Jim has to wait for Vera to arrive before going home and warns her not to turn up late for work again. Vera helps herself to a powder she's hidden at the back of a filing cabinet drawer.
Tracey asks Judy for advice about Vera's spiteful comments. Vera blames Jim's rosters for her being a physical wreck, but Jim hints that there could be other reasons for that. Bob admits he is seeing Meg when Tracey challenges him to deny it, though when we see Meg at home she is waiting for Bob, who seems to have stood her up. Doreen visits the hospital with Erica and is interviewed by Dr Henderson and seems to make a good impression on him. Judy reminds Tracey she has Meg to thank for saving her life and so perhaps she could let her father express his gratitude to Meg however he wants. Vera snidely remarks to Jim that he seems very interested in interior design all of a sudden. Doreen gets along well with the kids in the children's ward and impresses Dr Henderson with how well she has been coping.
Sarah leaves Jim's flat in a hurry. Jim finds his wardrobe open and realises why Sarah has fled. Judy tells Tracey to go to Erica about the threatening note, but Bea is also told, and she says she'll make her own enquiries. Bob arrives at Meg's flat to drive her to work on her first day back. Chrissie worries that her baby will soon be one year old and will be taken away from her. Jim sees Meg arriving at work with Bob and makes a snide comment which angers Meg. Erica promises to take action over the threat to Tracey. Chrissie admits to Doreen that she put the note on Tracey's bed, though she didn't know what was in it. Inspector Grace arrives and Meg finds out from him about the threat to Tracey. Chrissie owns up to Bea about the letter. Tracey sees her solicitor who tries to calm her fears. Jim puts on his uniform for his next visit to see Sarah, but Julian tells him she doesn't want to see him again. Tracey goes to court with an armed police escort.
The police car is driven through the back streets, but eventually runs into a police ambush: the driver from McNally's gang and the policewoman in the back of the car are both shot, but Tracey is pushed clear out of the car and sustains only a bad graze to the face . Lizzie comments that it doesn't seem like only six months since Doreen was picked up by the police: Bea tells her not to blame herself for getting Doreen into trouble. Tracey is brought back to Wentworth. Doreen gets a visitor at home: her neighbour Cheryl is investigating why there is a light on in a previously empty house and when she finds out it is Doreen she invites her to dinner. Doreen refuses and hurriedly shuts the door. Bob arrives to see Tracey, and as Meg is preparing to go home she takes a call at reception to say that the policewoman has died in hospital. Judy admits to Tracey that she had a relationship with a man once in America but implies that she didn't have sex with him.
Chrissie is put into street clothes for her visit to Elizabeth, and Vera tells Jim they are supposed to ignore Doreen if they see her at the hospital. Erica wants to know why Jim tried to put her off using Sarah's firm: he notices she is going through prison files and accuses her of jumping to conclusions. Doreen recognises Elizabeth, but a nurse suggests she keeps out of sight or she will give the game away. When Doreen sees Vera she pretends not to know her but advises her cattily to keep away from the children to avoid spreading germs. Vera retaliates by letting everyone know that Doreen has been in prison. Bob arrives for a visit and sees Judy comforting Tracey, but when he asks Tracey about it she is indignant that he should suspect her of having a relationship with Judy. Chrissie asks to work outside the maternity unit to keep her mind occupied, and her mention of Barnhurst reminds Erica of a woman who escaped from that prison several years ago.
Vera comes back from work in tears. Doreen's absence from the hospital is noticed, but the nurses assume that Elizabeth has been moved to another ward. Jim lies to Erica and pretends he hasn't had chance to talk to Sarah, so Erica says she will have to tell the police. Sarah is packed ready to leave for London, but changes her mind and tells Julian she's tired of running. Sister Brookes finds out Elizabeth hasn't been transferred to another ward and finally makes the connection with Doreen's failure to turn up for work. Doreen visits her neighbour Cheryl and passes Elizabeth off as her sister's baby (and then has to lie about having a sister). Jacki is brought to Wentworth and pretends not to know Jim. Meg and Erica discuss Vera's drink problem and wonder why they hadn't noticed it before. Lizzie and Bea can't understand why Judy is making such a fuss about the rumours of her relationship with Tracey. Meg tells the women that Elizabeth has been kidnapped.
Officer Barry takes Chrissie to the hospital to see her baby, who is ill in intensive care. Chrissie is assured by hospital staff the baby is going to be alright even though she is on the critical list. Judy moves out of Tracey Morris's cell in a bid to stop the lesbian rumours. Doreen is put back inside, for kidnapping Chrissie's baby. Erica tells her she is disappointed with her, but promises to help her during the trial. Meanwhile, when Chrissie is brought back to Wentworth, she tells Joyce Barry she knows Doreen kidnapped the baby and she is going to kill her. Erica warns Latham about getting revenge on Doreen, then when Doreen is brought into the Governor's office, she confronts her but in the end, Chrissie understands Doreen's good intentions when Doreen tells her she "kidnapped" the baby because they are putting her in a home. Jim brings Tracey back to the laundry to work, but Mouse assumes it is to be near Judy and makes slighting remarks.
The police question Vera about the robbery but say they're unlikely to be able to help her. Tracey apologises to Meg and congratulates her on the wedding. Vera returns to work but Erica tells her she doesn't look well enough so Vera has to admit to the drink problem and beg to be allowed to stay at work. When Erica asks what has happened to upset her, she tells Erica about being robbed. Jacki isn't pleased with the newspaper article about her case. Vera catches Tracey in the laundry with an uncensored newspaper, but amazes the women by only telling Lizzie to return it to the staff room. Jim tells Erica about his unsuccessful visit to Julian and recommends they try the PRG and attend the meeting conveniently planned for that very evening. Meg asks for leave in four weeks, and Erica is a little dubious until she finds out about the wedding. Julian calls a friend who's a judge for help with Jacki's appeal.
Bea tells the women to keep quiet about Jacki's relationship with Jim or risk having her transferred to Barnhurst. Erica promises Julian to speak to Myra and the PRG, but gives no guarantees that she can influence them. Vera is behind a store room door and overhears a conversation between Jim and Jacki: she goes to Erica and asks why Jacki is still in Wentworth. Erica tells her it wouldn't look good to have another prisoner transferred so soon after Tracey and for very similar reasons. Vera nevertheless tells Jim she's putting in a report to get Jacki moved "on security grounds" and makes a few snide remarks, but she tears the report up when Jim tells her why Jacki escaped. Lizzie and Doreen are inspired by Jacki's ability to run her own business and put in a request to Erica to let them start studying to improve themselves. Bea is a bit depressed by Lizzie and Doreen's hero worship of Jacki and points out to them that her own future involves another ten years in Wentworth.
Erica tells Jim to organise a special work programme to give the inspector less opportunity to find fault, but Vera thinks putting up a good front amounts to defrauding the Department. Lizzie and Doreen are set to work sorting out the books in the library and Lizzie finds a history of the Wentworth area, which mentions extensive wine cellars which form the prison's storm water drainage system. Meg asks Erica to be her matron of honour. A new prisoner, Anne Griffin , is brought to Wentworth charged with armed robbery after holding up a shopkeeper with a knife. She seems very distressed and says that the money the police found on her was a loan from her friend Megan. The women on the work detail clear the earth from around a concrete slab in the garden and manage to lift it. Anne tells a policewoman that her friend Megan is on holiday which is why they can't trace her. Doreen suggest Mouse is sent down the drains to investigate as she's less likely to be missed.
Judy finds Bea lying unconscious and calls for help. When Vera goes to report the incident to Erica, she tries to pretend in front of Gillespie that it is only a routine matter, but he insists on hearing her report. Judy tells the women in the rec room about the attack on Bea: Lizzie reckons there must be a basher in operation and any of them could be the next victim. Bea can tell Erica nothing useful about the attack, so Erica asks for surveillance to be stepped up on Bea and all her group. Vera suggests (prophetically, as it turns out) that this will only "drive them underground". Bea tells the women she needs to know anything which could identify her attacker. Gillespie "recommends" that the security gates be locked at all times and that armed guards should be posted round the perimeter fence. The script arrives for the pantomime and Vera wants to set to work censoring it, but Erica tells her there are more important things to do.
Judy claims the money was planted in her cell. Bea is prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt, but doesn't rate her chances of getting the other women to believe her, even when she gives them the money back. Bea suspects that it is Gillespie who is stirring up trouble, possibly as a way of getting her transferred. Doreen tells Lizzie she thinks Erica is getting the sack, and when Bea hears this, she reckons it gives Gillespie an even better motive. Erica rejects Gillespie's demand that the pantomime is cancelled and tells him she'll put her job on the line to ensure "That show will go on". As Bea predicted, the women are not impressed with Judy's story about the money. Bea is outraged that the women seem to have lost interest in the pantomime. Erica passes on Gillespie's latest instructions to the staff: all officers are to take a refresher course in unarmed combat, the armoury is to be restocked and the pantomime cancelled.
Vera catches up with the policewoman just as she is leaving to tell her the truth about Anne's letter. Bea finds Anne packing her bags, confident that Megan will clear her. Anne is asked for a sample of her handwriting to prove she didn't write the letter she handed over to the police. Judy tells Bea that Mouse and Irene want to come along on the escape. Margo says Doreen must be mad to trust Helen with her money, and Bea warns Helen not to take a penny more than she needs. Meg asks Vera if she's sure there was no letter from Megan: if the letter was forged by Anne, then perhaps Megan is just a figment of her imagination. Lizzie rehearses her part in the pantomime with L plates on, as she's a "learner" Fairy Godmother . Bea tells Helen to get a plan of the storm water drains so they know where to park the getaway vehicle. Lizzie talks to Anne about her daughter, and by an odd co-incidence, the daughter also seems to be called Megan. Helen is released.
The story Anne tells Jim and Vera is very confused, and she eventually agrees she made the whole thing up. She is returned to the laundry where she starts to talk again about her friend Megan. When she tells the women about finding Megan dead and the doctors describing it as a cot death, it becomes obvious she's talking (at least in part) about a baby. Anne says that she named her baby after her best friend, but now no-one can help her as they are both dead. Vera can't persuade Meg to change her mind and take back her resignation. The women try to pretend that the escape plan was just a joke, but Anne isn't convinced and flies into a rage. Bea realises it was Anne who attacked her. Later on, Anne has returned to "normal" and helps Lizzie with her lines. Meg talks to Bob about being born in prison: she says her mother was given a 5 year sentence during the war for black market activities and her father was a US soldier.
On the day of the panto and escape attempt, Gillespie is suspicious and snooping around backstage. The panto is a roaring success with the kids present, and under cover of costume, Judy, Doreen, Mouse and Irene make their escape down the tunnel. Back above ground, Lizzie has been pondering going with Dor, and when she finds Teddy left behind, her mind is made up and she ventures down after them, pursued by Bea, determined to bring her back. After watching what has been going on, loopy Anne tips a wheelbarrow of dirt on top of the entrance to the tunnel, burying it from sight and effectively trapping them all down there. And then disaster strikes when the tunnel collapses on top of the escapees, crushing Irene and trapping everyone else... Meanwhile, Meg prepares to start a new life with Bob, as they tie the knot.