Gina is on her way home from celebrating a rugby match victory. Somebody attacks her and tries to rape her when her car breaks down. Luckily the attacker is frightened off by Greengrass, who is on one of his 'nightly expeditions', before things get too far. Inspector Murchison does not believe Gina's story and leans very hard on her trying to get her to drop her story. Meanwhile Phil Bellamy's tie has been found in Gina's car. Phil has nothing to do with the assault, but names a likely suspect, Neil Gibson, who is arrested. Gibson's family scares Gina into dropping the charges, but then a waitress in Whitby is attacked under similar circumstances.

Barry Dixon returns to Aidensfield to start a new life when he is released from prison. But he has company. By detective Ed Baxter employed by the insurance company who had to pay up for the bank robbery that Dixon committed. Baxter starts to follow Dixon everywhere he goes hoping he will lead him to money. Ron and Doreen Tidy are on a hiking trip when they are stopped by Lord Ashfordly's keepers, who say that they are trespassing although the path is marked as public right of way on all maps. Together with the Boltons they stage a public demonstration to get Lord Ashfordly to open the path again. When the old chimney sweep Jim Fiedler dies Greengrass decides to take over his business. Especially the lucrative part of blessing newlyweds. Speaking of newlyweds things are heating up romantically between Mike Bradley and Jackie Lambert.

Rosie does the shopping for Miss Edgar. One morning she finds the old woman tied to a chair when she comes to deliver the groceries. Miss Edgar says the assailant posed as a representative from the Council and drove a grey van. It may have been the same van that forced Louise Parry off the road and nearly did the same to David in the brown lorry. David sees to the needs of Miss Parry getting her to the Aidensfield Arms and has Bernie pick up her car. She also asks him to deliver a letter to Dr. Trent's husband Matthew personally. He soon becomes their secret messenger. Meanwhile more victims of the man in the grey van are discovered. PC Walker believes he has information vital to the case, but when Sergeant Nokes refuses to listen to him he does a little investigating of his own among his father's old friends. There is a new constable at the Ashfordly police station. His name is Geoff Younger and this is his very first posting.

The young mother Julie is neglecting her two daughters after she met her new boyfriend Brian, who is a real troublemaker, and PC Mason and Nurse Cassidy are concerned for the well-being of the children. Mason especially has it in for the children's officer Clive Eames, whom he thinks does too little to protect them. Somebody is stealing lead from the churches in the area. They even manage to get away before the "watchful" eyes of PC Younger - twice - and Sergeant Miller is far from pleased. Gina is still afraid that something will go wrong with her baby like it did with Daniel, her and Phil's first-born child. To top it all Phil's 18-year-old niece Dawn has got in with the rough crowd and her father asks Gina to take care of the girl for a while.