PC Bellamy is in trouble. There was a break-in on his beat while he was visiting one of his girlfriends. Witnesses noticed a noisy minivan speeding away from the scene of the crime immediately afterwards. An anonymous tip leads to part of the loot - and Phil Bellamy's address. Blaketon has no choice but to suspend him from duty. Greengrass notices a fast, black greyhound and spots an opportunity to make a bob or two because it's a dead ringer for ruthless businessman Jack Scarman's somewhat slower dog Northern Flash. If only they can "borrow" it from its owner Mr. Parrish and swap the two.

Betty Hargreaves runs the nursing home in Ashfordly. She gets under suspicion of influencing her patients to change their wills in favour of herself and the nursing home. She may even have helped one or two of them into the great hereafter too. A series of petty thefts also seem to centre on Betty Hargreaves and her patients. Oscar Blaketon does a little private investigating and finds some surprising and disturbing facts about her too. PPC Nicholson is let loose on patrol and causes a traffic jam when he gives Gina a friendly wave. David gets a job clearing estates of deceased persons for an auction house and accidentally clears the wrong house.

Steve and Amy are two of a group of squatters who move into Geoff Lawson's empty cottages on Oddy's Field. When Lawson hears about it he tries to get the squatters out, but that is easier said than done, and the squatters make Lawson look like a fool time and time again. When not even a court possession order helps three thugs break into the cottages to remove the squatters by force. Lawson is the prime suspect, but when the police catch the bullies they say they were hired by a woman. PPC Nicholson feels he is kept out of the investigation, follows up on a lead and questions Amy, who is very pregnant with Steve's baby. As expected Nicholson only screws things up - and triggers off the birth of Amy's baby.