After thoroughly modern Margaret's visits to the vicarage start leaving Mrs Maguire's nose out of joint, Sidney is hoping for a distraction – which arrives in the unexpected form of a young man sat alone in the church and covered in blood. The man is Theo Graham [Jeremy Newmark Jones], and he confesses to Sidney and Geordie that he attacked and killed his landlord, Eric Whittaker [Michael Shaeffer]. But when Sidney and Geordie call on the Boarding House that Eric ran, they find the alleged victim alive and well, along with his teenage daughter Joan [Rosie Day] and her step-mother Vivian [Liz White]. Eric believes Theo is a fantasist. Back at the station, despite his protestations that Eric will come after him, Geordie sends the young man on his way. Hours later, however, witnessed by Sidney and Geordie, Eric is killed in a hit and run.

Sidney comforts Vivian at the hospital, but back at the boarding house he finds her relationship with Joan to be strained – all the more so when Joan learns of her father's death. When Theo arrives to claim his belongings, Sidney ends up chasing him from the boarding house, but the pursuit ends when Theo slashes Sidney with a knife.

As Vivian tends to Sidney's wounds, he becomes drawn deeper and deeper into the twisted emotional world of the boarding house. Who is Vivian trying to protect? What does seemingly shy and single boarder Raymond [John Voce] really want? And how far will Sidney have to go to uncover the killer.

With Leonard distracted by secretive trips to the cinema and Geordie compelled to deal with a surprising shoplifter, who is watching Sidney's back?

Sidney is the only friend Gary Bell has left as he waits for news about whether he will be offered a reprieve. Sidney is determined that whatever his fate, he will stand by his side – even if certain members of the village object. Meanwhile, Geordie and Phil visit the hospital where Rita Jones [Tanya Franks] recovers from the latest beating dealt out by her violent husband Eddie [Matthew Jure]. But with her children needing a breadwinner, Rita refuses to press charges. Rita's eldest son lets the two detectives into the hovel they call a family home. When they discover some recently stolen goods, it appears they finally have all they need to collar Eddie. But the man doesn't go quietly, fighting with Phil and winding up Geordie as he's carted to the cells. The next morning, Geordie's wife Cathy calls on Sidney: Geordie didn't come home last night. And when Sidney arrives at the station he finds his friend with his knuckles bruised, and Eddie, dead on a stretcher.

When DCI Benson questions Geordie's innocence, Sidney leaps to his friend's defence. But Geordie has been behaving strangely of late, and no one else can verify his whereabouts when Eddie was killed. At the vicarage, Leonard and Mrs Maguire are at each other's throats as an ill judged remark about Mrs Maguire's love life, and the accidental loss of some sentimental postcards leaves both feeling raw and misunderstood.

As Gary Bell waits to discover his fate, Sidney seeks to avoid a further injustice taking place. But as he digs deeper he finds himself questioning precisely whether he really knows Geordie as well as he thought. Could Geordie have beaten Eddie to death? Will Sidney keep the faith in his friend? And will Gary avoid the hangman's noose?