Everyone gathers at Ballarat Observatory to view the eclipse. In the darkness there is a commotion, and standing over a body as the lights are turned on is none other than Dr Lucien Blake. The finger of suspicion falls on him - even Chief Supt Frank Carlyle has no option but to put him in the cells, and Blake has his toughest case yet to find another suspect and prove his innocence.

A firefighter falls from the bell tower of the Ballarat fire station. While it initially looks like a suicide, Blake suspects foul play, but he can't find the evidence to prove it. At home, even now Mei Lin has moved out, things remain complicated.

Frank is playing 18 holes on Ballarat golf course when another club member, a local newspaper reporter, turns up dead in one of the bunkers. Frank and Blake soon discover there is a lot more to local politics than meets the eye.

At Ballarat military base a soldier is killed on a routine training exercise. Investigating the tragedy, Blake comes face to face with the new base commander, his old nemesis Major Derek Alderton.

An experienced jockey dies on the track when his horse throws him during practice. It doesn't take long to discover evidence of foul play, so Blake and Frank begin asking around Ballarat's shady bookmakers. Meanwhile Blake has problems of his own at home dealing with the repercussions of Mei Lin's unexpected arrival.

When a lottery winner is kidnapped and held to ransom, Blake uses his keen instincts and personal touch to sift through the suspects. But there's something else on his mind as well.

A local businessman is found drowned in the swimming baths right after the grand unveiling of his plans for a local theme park about the Ballarat gold rush. Realising the death is suspicious, Blake begins untangling the victim's complicated personal life. And after Matthew's sudden departure, there's another chief superintendent to get to know.

Ballarat is hosting a stage of a prestigious cross-country motor race. When a mechanic is found dead underneath one of the cars, it's clear foul play is involved. Under pressure for the race to go ahead in a couple of days, Blake and Lawson must investigate quickly, but unfortunately they run into some trouble down at the motor yard.