It is the day after the explosion. The Mt. Thomas police station lies in ruins; Senior Constable Joanna Parish is dead, as is Clancy Freeman; and Grace Croydon is missing. While Tom recovers in hospital, PJ, Ben, Susie and Jonesy move into the new police premises where they are met with a surprise: Nick Schultz, now a Detective Sergeant in Homicide, has arrived to investigate the attack. And he's not the only one.

Sergeant Mark Jacobs has arrived in town for a temporary post - or so he thinks. But Inspector Falcon-Price wants Jacobs to move permanently into Mt. Thomas, because he wants a person more suitable than Ben to take over when Tom retires. Jacobs is an intellectual, self-confident, ambitious man in his 40s and quickly shows authority as the group move into their new premises.

PJ and Nick question 'Rocket' Turnbull, Tom's old war comrade, although he claims - and Tom agrees - that he couldn't get access to that much explosive.

When Cal Millic - the father who threatened Jo shor