Sylvia Smith takes care of her ill mother Freda, and too much so if you ask her fiancée Jack Hall. Every time he wants to take her out she declines because of her mother's illness. One night on of Sylvia's brother Tony's fish-and-chips shops is burned down and his wife Gladys is not surprised to learn that it was arson. She is convinced that Jack is the arsonist and the relationship between them does not improve when old Freda Smith dies and leaves everything to Sylvia. Oscar Blaketon gets a visit from his old friend Ursula Donne. She is also an old friend of Lord Ashfordly's and she sticks to him like glue when she meets him again joining him for dinners and to the horse races. She even invites him to join her consortium, which owns hotels all over England. Nurse Bolton gets a job at a hospital and leaves Aidensfield.

Like many girls Pattie and Sheila Reilly likes horses. One day Pattie takes a ride on a stray pony. An unknown man surprises them and very unwisely fires a shot in the air. The sudden bang startles the horse and makes it bolt. Pattie is thrown off and her scared kid sister flags down PC Walker, who gets both of them to Dr. Trent's surgery. He also has his own, more romantic reason to see the attractive doctor. When Walker tries to find both the owner of the pony and the shooter he suddenly finds himself investigating a series of horse thefts. His life is not made any easier by Joyce Jowett, who complains to the police about a bad smell and noisy lorries from the house at the end of her road. Sergeant Miller has referred her to the town hall because it is not a police matter, but the battleaxe pesters the life out of Walker instead. Aunt Peggy gets mad at Oscar Blaketon for barring her and David from the Aidensfield Arms for playing poker.