Police Constable Nick Rowan moves from London to Aidensfield, North Riding, Yorkshire to be the new village bobby with his wife Kate, who was born and grew up in the area and hopes for a position with the local GP Dr. Ferrenby. Rowan soon starts to make himself known among the locals and gets his first case. A woman thinks she is being stalked and wants him to look into it. Furthermore there is trouble brewing between local boys on motorbikes and outside hooligans for him to deal with, and his new section sergeant, the old-fashioned Oscar Blaketon from the nearby Ashfordly police station whose lifelong ambition it is to see the local rascal Claude Jeremiah Greengrass behind bars, is giving him a hard time too.

When Alan Maskell is charged with accessory to car theft although he helped the police to catch the thieves he makes a run for it to London. PC Rowan has been offered a position in a new anti-drug unit within the Yard, and he decides to look for Alan and bring him back for the trial since he has to go to the capital for an interview anyway. Blaketon is in high spirits when Greengrass is caught trying to sell some sheep which may be stolen. When George Ward is having difficulty driving his car and serving drinks Kate Rowan suspects he is seriously ill.

A number of sheep has been savaged or killed, and Inspector Crossley is convinced that a very big cat like a puma is at large in the area. To Blaketon it looks more like the workings of a dog and Greengrass' lurcher Alfred seems to be the culprit. Kate Rowans starts in her new job at Dr. Radcliffe's surgery in Whitby, although she feels as if she is being kept outside deliberately. Not by Dr. Radcliffe himself, but by his receptionist Christine Ferguson. Meanwhile Greengrass has settled his outstanding account with the Inland Revenue in his own, very unique way.

Claude Greengrass is the new lollipop man outside the village school, and PC Rowan gets a complaint from Walter Pettigrew that he suddenly and without warning jumped out onto the street just in front of Pettigrew's car. But Greengrass claims that it was Pettigrew who nearly caused the accident and he is backed up by the new school teacher Jo Weston. Jo Weston is concerned about one of her students, Lizzy McGowan, who is late almost every day. Lizzy's mother lives with her boyfriend Derek Ramsey, who is sent to prison for attacking PCs Rowan, Bellamy and Ventress in a fight at the Aidensfield Arms, but he escapes on the way to the prison. And with good reason too, because the next morning Dorothy McGowan is attacked and badly injured in her home. PC Rowan thinks a mysterious man, who showed up in court, has something to do with it.

Bag-snatchers are at large in Ashfordly and the police know that Ian 'Duster' Murray and Robert 'Red' Broadbent are the perpetrators, but cannot prove it. When they attack Phil Bellamy's grandmother he takes it personally and gets determined to see them behind bars at any cost. Greengrass is also in great demand. Mr. Braithwaite has died and his daughters Joan and Norma are convinced that he hid his will in his stuffed prize ram and that Greengrass knows where it is. Jo's mother has become ill and she does her best to make Jo feel bad about it, because she will not break up her engagement to Nick and Fiona Weston cannot keep up appearances when her daughter is married to a common village bobby.

Gina has brought young Sian along to help her behind the bar at a dance, but Sian is more interested in dancing with a young man called Ben Ealham and having fun. Gina scolds her and sends her home, but Sian runs out of petrol on her way home. The next morning Sian is found badly bruised and raped in her car. Before she is rushed to hospital Sian names Ealham as her assailant. Sergeant Nokes, who has temporarily switched places with Craddock, is certain she has an open and shut case, but Ealham's solicitor Jackie Bradley disagrees and gets him off on technicalities. This brings about a frigid distance between her and Mike.

The artist Joe Vaughan has rented a cottage from Lord Ashfordly to do some painting. He has had a bit of a clash with members of the local rugby club and they do what they can to annoy him. A Liverpool gangster, Boyd, is also interested in him and he has sent two goons to do the dirty job. His benefactor Rod Dundas organizes an exhibition at the cottage, but the night after the opening the cottage burns and all Vaughan's paintings are destroyed. Well not all of them, since one of them is missing. Greengrass gets a grant from the council for his new "romantic boarding house" and can soon greet his first guests. His old friend Betty persuades him to buy a share of the race horse Alnwick Flyer, which must be sold for tax reasons. There is something about Gina's boyfriend Andy that Oscar Blaketon does not like and he starts to follow Andy around like a shadow.

The retired school teacher Celia Hanson has bought a cottage in Aidensfield. But she does not get along with her neighbour Don Foster, who does nothing but intimidate her on purpose, she claims. It peaks when his tractor rolls into her car after he threatened to drive straight through it. Furthermore rumour has it that Foster has killed his wife, who disappeared suddenly a few years earlier. Frank Jarvis suggests to Greengrass that he lend him a field to dump waste, but Greengrass will not settle for percentages only if he can be in charge himself and he decides to go into business himself. When he and David collect the first load David finds a live grenade, which he likes so much he decides to keep it for himself as a special treasure.

Carl Lomax is found guilty in vandalizing police property and he is persona absolutely non grata with Mr. and Mrs. White because their daughter Debbie got contraceptive pills for his sake. As a matter of fact the whole pill story is making quite a stir in Aidensfield. Dr. Summerbee has one strong support though. Mike Bradley has grown quite attracted to the beautiful doctor after his divorce from Jackie. He is with her when her surgery gets burgled and a lot of drugs are stolen. Things do not get any better when Carl Lomax escapes from custody and Debbie decides to run away with him. Vernon Scripps' latest venture is slot machines, but the sleazy character Charley Woods is the sole supplier in that field, and he does not like competition at all.

Dr. Merrick responds to a call from Katie Barnwell saying that her father is not feeling well, but Katie's big sister Meg insists that everything is OK and that there is no cause for alarm. But Dr. Merrick discovers that everything is far from OK when she finds the father dead in his bed and Meg trying to cope for herself and her two younger siblings in an attempt to keep the family together. Now it is up to the child welfare and they want to separate the children. Oscar Blaketon's attempt to prevent this is hampered by Robert Barnwell who is caught stealing some food. Robert is also the suspect in a number of break-ins in the village. Vernon Scripps has not been discouraged by the loss of his big fortune and a caravan site is a good a way as any to start a new one. But it takes more to make a successful caravan site than just finding a suitable field and putting up a few shacks.

The police had a tip-off and searches the home of Big Frank Batley. His wife Tina claims that one of the police officers has stolen 400 pounds during the search and the money is found in DS Dawson's car.Convinced of her innocence PC Mason risks his career in an attempt to prove it. A lady in another village has died and specifically requested that Bernie Scripps handles her funeral although there are other undertakers much closer to her home. He is shocked to find out that she was an old girlfriend of his and the love of his life - and that they have a daughter Bernie knew nothing about. She was adopted after her birth and Bernies asks Oscar Blaketon to help him find her.