Marjorie Doubleday is convinced that her daughter-in-law, Rita, is neglecting her young grandson, causing a rift in the Doubleday family which gets a lot worse when the baby is abducted from outside the shop. Nick and the team are forced to investigate the possibility that Marjorie may have kidnapped her own grandson. The villagers think a gang of hippies are to blame, and the case becomes more complicated when a patient of Kate's who is unable to have children is reported missing. Meanwhile, Greengrass buys a racehorse and begins training it up, but he once again incurs the wraith of Blaketon when the horse runs wild around the village.

The fair is visiting Aidensfield and caravan site owner Edna Plummer uses it as a meeting place for her criminal brother, who receives some stolen paintings that have been transported from Holland, and one of the paintings falls into the hands of Greengrass, who attempts to get himself out of trouble by offloading them to Dr Ferrenby. However, Ferrenby forces him to tell Nick what is going on, and the unlikely pair join forces to nail Edna and her smuggler associates. Meanwhile, Kate is put in a difficult predicament when one of her patients tells her that her son may be connected to the disappearance of two children.