While attending a conference, David receives a job offer that seems impossible to refuse - will he leave Simon in the lurch? Karen anxiously prepares to meet her estranged mother for lunch, and Chris learns the truth about Beth's marital status. Anna treats a man whose health is suffering due to his job in a textile factory, but ends up equally concerned about his wife's welfare as she struggles to look after her husband and two lazy teenagers.

Election fever grips Skelthwaite, but Simon finds his opponent more formidable and devious than the weedy kid he used to bully at school. Karen's mother Linda is becoming a burden at the Buckley home, but a rethink is needed when it emerges she has a serious medical problem, and David finds himself embroiled in Conrad Walker's spurious business empire with no hope of backing out. Meanwhile, Beth uncovers Anita's beauty secrets and plans to make things difficult for estranged husband Stewart.