A garden competition sparks off a feud between Veronica and Carol, and Veronica's bitterness towards her mother alienates her friends and family, even Kev and Fiona. She is pushed further over the edge when she is uninvited to Carol's birthday party, where she overhears a shocking revelation that tears her and Kev apart. Meanwhile, Frank and his friend Tommy turn Sheila's house into a drinking den after The Jockey is closed down while she is away visiting her mother. But Frank accidentally loses one of the twins to an alcoholic transvestite called "Psycho Sally". Elsewhere, Fiona is convinced Steve is having an affair with a woman named Kerry-Anne, but the truth is worse than she could have imagined.

When Sheila asks Lip to water her friend's plants while she is away, he begins using the house to get some peace and quiet, away from his chaotic family, to do homework. But when he returns one night, he discovers the house has been burgled, and he is arrested by a bent copper with a grudge to bear. To make matters worse, Frank is called into the police station to represent him and ends up making matters a lot worse for his son. With Lip facing a prison stretch, Fiona, Tony and Frank attempt to deal with the bent copper, while Ian, Marty, and Carl Gallagher (Elliott Tittensor) find themselves taking part in a burglary. Meanwhile, Debbie begins a VHS business, and Carl discovers a video of the local lollypop woman having an affair with another man. The video starts spreading around Chatsworth, leaving the residents wondering who the mystery man is, with the culprit eventually being revealed as local policeman, Stan Waterman (Warren Donnelly). Elsewhere, Fiona is still missing Steve, and Tony's attempts to help only make things worse for her.