PC Bellamy set off in pursuit of a pursuit of a man, who supposedly stole the purse of Alice Armstrong. He does not catch the guy, but manages to retrieve the purse - minus her money. He is sure he will catch the culprit, but it may take some time because a series of break-ins at fashionable estates keep the police in Ashfordly occupied. The burglar may be a member of a small circus, which Vernon Scripps puts up for the winter. Scripps persuades Lord Ashfordly to let the exotic animals graze on his estate and open a wildlife park. But they may get more than they bargained for when the whole circus turns up and the animals escape and scatter all over Aidensfield. Col. Barber is very fond of telling stories about his exploits during the war, but his memory may not be what it used to be. Maybe it never was?

A cat burglar is causing the police endless worry. He is targeting the wealthy houses of the area, and PC Mason suspects the window cleaner Tommy Hugget who has form, but his wife Betty gives him an alibi. However Mason is convinced that they are hiding something. Major Giles MacLean makes quite an impression on Carol Cassidy when he asks her for directions to Ashforly Hall. The major is on his way to his regiment reunion i Edinburgh and takes his lordship up on his offer to stay a couple of nights. But he too is the victim of the cat burglar. Aunt Peggy is outraged when David finds a young woman camping out on his field - without paying, but changes her tune when she discovers that the woman is her old friend Sofia. And she cannot get them hitched fast enough when David and Sofia feel attracted to each other. It is hard for Bernie to mind both the garage and the funeral parlour and he looks forward to Rosie's return from Australia. But not even her family has heard from her for several months, and when her sheep-shearing friend Mick turns up in Aidensfield asking for her Bernie and her father fear that something has happened to her.