Detective Chief Superintendent Tatton asks PC Bradley to harbour Barry Ross, who has turned queen's evidence at the trial against crime boss Michael James Duggan. To keep Duggan from finding Ross the whole matter is to be kept secret and Bradley cannot even tell his friends and colleagues. Not even his superiors. When Ross needs medical attention Jackie sends for Dr. Tricia Summerbee, whom she knows can be trusted. Greengrass has moved to the West Indies to live with his sister, who has won a lot of money and wants to share it with him. Bernie Scripps' stepbrother Vernon arrives in Aidensfield and moves in with David at Greengrass' cottage. Vernon is quite an entrepreneur and he has lots of ideas on how to improve Bernie's business.

Sergeant Craddock attends dancing classes to keep up his dancing skills. He also has something of a soft spot for the dancing teacher Susan Finlay. That friendship is put to the test when her son Richard drives through Aidensfield like a regular Jackie Stewart and refuses to stop when the police want to give him a speeding ticket. Craddock lets him off with a warning, but the following night a little boy is run down by a hit-and-run driver, who may very well be Richard driving in her car. Lord Ashfordly is forced off the road by Richard's reckless driving. The petrol tank of his Bentley gets punctured in the incident and he takes it to Bernie's garage. But Bernie is out of town for a few days and Vernon becomes an instant expert on Bentleys when his lordship needs his car back badly.

Jackie's mother is visiting some friends, Joe and Shona Henderson, who live not far from Aidensfield. She still has not forgiven Jackie for marrying a mere village bobby, and their relationship does not improve when Jackie represents Jacob Fairbrother, who has been injured in an accident at Henderson's quarry. It almost reaches freezing when Shona Henderson is murdered and Fairbrother is suspected of the crime. David sees a flyer for a pop concert, and when Vernon Scripps discovers it is organized by Mickey Willis, the son of and old friend; he spots a business opportunity to cater the entire tour. Phil Bellamy and Gina have been seeing each other a lot lately. In fact they have been seeing each other so much that sergeant Craddock cannot turn a blind eye anymore since romantic relations between a police officer and a pub licensee are illegal.

Glenda Marriot wants her aunt Mrs. Barton to sell her farm and move to an old people's home, but the old lady says she can still manage together with her farmhand Jed Harrison. Glenda tries to take legal steps to make her sell, but somebody must be more intent on getting the old lady out and tries to scare her away. Vernon Scripps' latest idea is hot rods. He wants Bernie to build him one so that he can race it. PC Ventress is showing Special Constable Harold Emney around when he sees Gina leaving the maternal ward at Ashfordly Hospital. Of course he puts two and two together and gets five and before long everybody knows that she is pregnant - everybody that is except Gina and the assumed father Phil Bellamy.

Lord Ashfordly plays host to the Livonian Prince Nikolas and hires Vernon Scripps to bodyguard his distinguished guest. Not an easy task as it turns out because the prince is a great lover of liquor and will rather pay a visit to the Aidensfield Arms than to his lordship's wine cellar. Lord Ashfordly is not the only one awaiting guests. Mike Bradley is expecting his niece Anne and her friend Louise, but the two girls turn out to be very modern teenagers and not the cute little kids he imagined. They are more into parties than trips around the countryside. Dr. Summerbee has given up her job at the hospital in favour of Dr. Bolton's old practice in Aidensfield. Phil has a very special assignment for Bernie Scripps. He intends to propose to Gina and wants Bernie to drive her to a very romantic place. But Bernie has to help his brother and sends David instead. Only when you give directions to David you have to be _very_ specific!

Renalto Pisconi is the manager of a gambling casino with distribution of counterfeit money on the side. Pisconi's father-in-law Reginald White, who owns the casino, is the leader of the counterfeiters with Denise as a third partner. The police get on their tracks through their former bartender John Garrick, who is arrested for using some of the counterfeit money at the Aidensfield Arms. Oscar Blaketon's car is broken beyond repair. Since he always wanted an MG Vernon Scripps gets the idea to sell classic sports car and he knows just the man to supply them. Soon Oscar Blaketon is the proud owner of his dream car, a red hot MG A - with the emphasis on "hot".

Jackie gets a visit from her old friend Caroline. She is surprised to learn that Caroline has a baby. Caroline needs a day off from motherhood and leaves the baby with Jackie and Mike while she goes to York to see some friends. Mike leaves the baby in a pram outside the police house, but when Jackie comes home from an errand the baby is gone. Jackie is not the only one who has a visitor. Lady Patricia visits her brother at Ashfordly Hall together with an old family friend Lord Hal Tadcaster. Well "together" may not be the proper word, because she would rather see him leave than stay. And with good reason since the CID suspects Tadcaster of being a drug dealer and asks the police in Ashfordly to keep an eye on him. The post office in Whitby goes on strike. Vernon Scripps gets the idea to start a courier service. And for once he does the dirty work himself.

Adrian Miller is giving lectures all over the country. After a lecture he is accused of trying to rape Lisa Preston in her room at the hotel where they both are staying. Jackie is appointed as his solicitor, but they do not get along at all - and that is putting it mildly. David is in charge of the household in Greengrass' cottage where both he and Vernon Scripps are staying, but he cannot cope with paying the bills and taxes and Vernon suggests that one of them (meaning David) gets a job. They take on a ploughing job for George Walker, but when they try to start his tractor David finds a body in Walker's car in the barn. The "body" turns out to be a bust which Walker has reported stolen together with some other items also found in the car. Once they have been found Walker has disappeared.

PC Bradley has been sent to investigate a break-in when he witnesses an explosion. It is the car of ambulance driver Frank Metcalfe which exploded when he turned on the ignition, and it looks like attempted murder because he has received anonymous phone calls and a threatening letter a couple of days earlier. The grocer Mr. Dale is attacked under similar circumstances. But they have nothing in common. The only lead is a blue Ford Transit van seen on both occasions and that the attacker has military training and access to the local arsenal. Pete Atkins fits these requirements, but he claims his innocence. Oscar Blaketon also receives anonymous phone calls. Is he the next victim? Rev. Meeks represents a foundation which offers Lord Ashfordly to finance the renovation St. Judes Church on his lands, and his lordship hires Vernon Scripps and David to do work for him. Meeks especially asks them to be on the lookout for a particular baptismal font from the church.

Dr. Summerbee helps 16-year old Debbie White to get on the pill, because she thinks the relation with her boyfriend Carl Lomax is serious enough for that, and her friend Jenny wants some too. But their parents and the parents of their peers think the good doctor has gone too far. Somebody throws a stone through a window of the police house in Aidensfield, but sergeant Craddock thinks there are more important matters to tend to than finding the culprit. A big inspection is on in a few days and he wants the police station to be in tiptop shape. He changes his mind however when his own police car gets vandalized with paint. And the vandal is just getting started. Vernon Scripps accuses David of eating too much, but they must soon realize that they have an unwanted visitor.

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.

Vernon Scripps' past catches up with him. Igor Saukas from Lithuania is captain on a coaster which makes a call at Whitby. Saukas uses the opportunity to call on his old friend, but Scripps is not too keen on seeing Saukas because of a deal involving faulty umbrellas and now Vernon is convinced that the Lithuanian is out for revenge. Much too his surprised Saukas instead offers him another deal - Lithuanian peat. Clive Denby from MI5 is also very interested in the Lithuanian. He asks sergeant Craddock to assist in the surveillance of him. Eamon Maxwell insists that something is wrong with him although Dr Summerbee's examinations show him to be in good health. Every time she has put his mind at ease he comes up with a new "disease". He may even have a death wish, because he often stands on the railway tracks and jumps aside at the very last moment.

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.

Ashfordly Hall opens its doors to the public with guided tours by Vernon Scripps. During one of the tours master art thief George Woodford sneaks away and hides in his lordship's wine cellar, where he makes himself comfortable until nightfall. Under the cover of darkness he then removes four valuable sketches by the famous English painter John Constable. Woodford is recognized on some press photos, but when the police want to question him, someone has beaten them to it, gagged the old man and knocks PPC Nicholson down. Of the sketches there is no trace. Not even in Woodford's hiding place. Somebody "accidentally" locks PPC Nicholson in one of the cells and then "forgets" all about it till next morning. A wise move because then he cannot make any mischief.

PPC Nicholson responds to a call about a break-in at the Shields Carpet Factory only to find the manager Trevor Shields "working late" with his secretary Maureen Felton. To get even Shields fires the works manager Neville Sawyer, and when an accident happens at the factory Shields blames Sawyer for that as well. But the safety records speak differently and the factory is closed. Vernon Scripps suggests to the local Women's Institute that they organize a beauty pageant, but is immediately opposed by Joyce Jowett who finds the idea revolting. When it is decided to go forward anyway Mrs. Jowett tries to stop it by notifying the police that the pageant is indecent. But Sergeant Craddock will not do anything because it is not illegal. That does not stop the virago however.

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.

Meryl Johnson is the manager of the Ellerby Building Society. One day she gets two uninvited guests. They want to keep her and her son Toby as hostages for a couple of days and then make her pick up all the money of the society for them. Luckily she manages to get a warning off to PC Ventress without the villains noticing it, and the police put her cottage under surveillance. There have been a number of salmonella related deaths in Aidensfield. The only common denominator seems to be the homemade chicken pie of the Aidensfield Arms. When Toby Johnson gets ill PPC Nicholson, who is on surveillance duty, reports the good Dr. Summerbee leaving, but not arriving (because he was taking a nap). Speaking of Dr. Summerbee, she gets a secretary to help her at the surgery, Jenny Latimer.

Dr. Summerbee gets a visit from her old friend actress Heather Conway over Christmas. Her stay is not a courtesy call though. She is hiding from somebody and that somebody is close on her heels. Emma Turner is blind and very dependent on her guide dog Peggy. But one day Peggy has disappeared. The dog is Emma's only company over the holidays, but despite a thorough police search there is no trace of Peggy. Fortunately an article in the local news paper turns up a lead. Joyce Jowett has become the new chairman of the local finance committee. She is very interested in the old folks' Christmas party and Vernon Scripps promise her to supply a Christmas tree with lights and everything. Getting a tree is fairly easy, but David has a small mishap with the coloured lights.

Charlie Draper robs the jewellery shop in Ashfordly, but when he tries to escape he is hit by a car. While he lies unconscious on the street his partner grabs the loot and Draper's gun and drives off. Draper's old partner in crime is Jack Wetherby, but he has gone straight since he came out of prison - or so he says. Meanwhile Draper is recuperating at the hospital under the watchful eyes of Sleeping Beauty, sorry PPC Nicholson. Famous cricket player Vinny Sanders has a car breakdown just outside Aidensfield, and he moves in at the Aidensfield Arms while the car is fixed. His stay makes Oscar Blaketon is beside himself with joy and Blaketon organizes a match between The Aidensfield Arms and another pub with Sanders playing for the Arms. David is alone at the garage when a consignment of petrol is delivered and pours it into the garage tanks. If only he could remember what goes where. To top it all the fuel may be stolen.

Walter Ames collapses at the square of Aidensfield and dies. When the police search his cottage for names of relatives they find something much more interesting; complete plans for serious crimes. All crimes have all been committed except one, and they were all planned by someone known only as "The Bookman" by Scotland Yard. The remaining crime is a hit on the Bank in Ashfordly. To prevent the robbery the police keep an eye on all newcomers in the area. Vernon Scripps has a new venture. Scripps' Roaming Holidays, where tourists can rent a gipsy caravan and drive along given routes through the country. The horse is even very easy to handle as long as you keep it away from Ashfordly Hall - and a few other places.. PPC Nicholson gets very attentive when an attractive woman asks for Sergeant Craddock at the police station, but PC Ventress thinks he may better tend to Mrs. Craddock himself.

Sergeant Craddock has been promoted and a new sergeant is expected at Ashfordly police station. His name is Dennis Merton and he is an ex-CID. From their patrol car PC Ventress and PPC Nicholson spot the disqualified driver Paul Rogers going in the opposite direction in his car after seeing his girlfriend Sandra, but Rogers denies having been driving when they confront him. His father Ken Rogers has had CID chasing his tail for years, and by going after Paul the Ashfordly police land themselves in the middle of a major CID investigation. David is out of form from sitting in the taxi and wait for customers. Vernon Scripps supervises David's training and spots the talented boxer Jeremy Purves. Scripps has high hopes for his new protégé, but despite his talents Purves lacks the deciding punch.

Jim Wainwright's barn burns down and although the fire was started deliberately Wainwright claims it was an accident and not worth any police attention. The next day the headlights of George Allsop's Land Rover are smashed and he too says it is not a police matter. PC Ventress and PC Bradley think otherwise because the Wainwrights and the Allsops have been in a feud with each other for many years although things have been quiet between them for a long time. But they may be starting up again. Vernon Scripps thinks Aidensfield and other villages need a cinema. He gets a projector from a closed-down sex club and plans to drive around and show pictures at the village halls. Joyce Jowett is against the idea and wants to have final approval of the films.

A valuable Ming vase has been stolen from Colonel Potter's mansion. The theft was discovered by his son Eric, but the colonel is little senile and sometimes does not remember even owning a Ming vase. Dr. Summerbee thinks Eric himself is behind it, because he cannot get his father into a retiring home fast enough so that he can get his hands on the family fortune, but a professional gang is operating in the area. A V.I.P. comes to Aidensfield and the police in Ashfordly are requested to guard the railway station and see to it that a motorcade can get through the area. Therefore he specifically forbids PC Bradley to question a young couple, who has moved into a holiday cottage about their relation to George East, who stays at the Aidensfield Arms in connection with the theft of the Ming vase. But he cannot stop Oscar Blaketon who has been hired by Eric Potter to find the vase.

When Helen Jones comes home from walking her dog she finds an intruder in her house. The intruder escapes, but not without Helen recognizing him as her long lost husband Alan, who disappeared with a lot of his employer's money. Only Alan does not look a day older than the day he disappeared. David and Vernon Scripps help a young Frenchman Anton Berail. Berail's father owns a large vineyard and Anton thinks, Vernon's cottage is suitable for growing wine. Sergeant Merton tells PC Bradley and PC Ventress, why he had to leave the CID and become a uniformed police officer. Oscar Blaketon organizes a treasure hunt to raise money for playgrounds and everybody spend a lot of time trying to solve the puzzles. Mike teams up with Tricia Summerbee and they make cupid work overtime.

PC Bradley investigates a break-in at Agnes Moorcroft's guest house, but the only thing missing is the last page of entries in her guest book. Somebody seems to be very interested in her guests Sue Dixon and her daughter Tracey. Bradley thinks it may be her estranged husband, but the attractive Mrs. Dixon also has a big, dark secret in her life. The new health food shop in Ashfordly is desperate for goat's milk and Vernon Scripps is just the man to supply it. Business is booming and soon there are customers - and goats - all over Aidensfield. Especially goats. They turn out to be regular four-legged Harry Houdinis.

The walking disaster area PPC Nicholson comes of age and the whole village is planning a surprise party for him. To keep him - and everybody else - out of harms way Sergeant Merton sends him out to check tax discs together with PC Bellamy. Jimmy Sutton is suspected to be involved in an armed robbery and the Ashfordly police are asked to check on his whereabouts, but neither his mother nor his wife Lesley have heard from him. PC Bellamy stumbles across the robbers hiding out in the woods, and when he is injured PPC Nicholson offers to be their hostage instead. A heroic action with tragic consequences for him. Lord Ashfordly is playing host to a party of American veterans from World War II. Vernon Scripps persuades him to let the local brass band to be responsible for the entertainment. This is a bad idea because the band leader George Sugden does not like Americans and especially not this lot.

Sergeant Merton is dating Vivienne Keen, but the morning after a date she accuses him of stealing her purse. Merton of course denies the allegation and is suspended pending investigation, but things do not look to good for him when the purse is found in his apartment. Furthermore a similar allegation was made against him ten years earlier, but the case was dropped. PC Bradley still thinks his superior is innocent and begins his own, private investigation at the risk of being suspended himself. Bernie Scripps is acting strangely. He has seen Dr. Summerbee a lot recently and Vernon is afraid he suffers from a serious depression.

Harvey Cottrell buys furniture at almost stealing prizes. He shows great interest in Alice Stanton's Greek figurine and the next day it is gone. The same thing happens to an old mirror belonging to John Salter, and Cottrell turned really nasty when she would not sell him that. The villagers of Aidensfield have to elect either Oscar Blaketon or Joyce Jowett as the parish representative for the counsel and the candidates do everything they can to outdo and discredit each other. Many villagers find it hard to get to the village hall to vote and Blaketon offers to take them there in David's taxi. Dr. Summerbee thinks that exercise will improve general health in Aidensfield and organizes a fitness class. But fitness may not be too good to herself because she collapses after the class.

Saul Arkwright walks his dog close to Lord Ashfordly's estate when the dog is shot by one of Lord Ashfordly's guests Oliver Langley. Since Langley just drives off nearly hitting Arkwright in the process the latter see no other alternative than to make a complaint to the police. When the police do not do enough in his opinion Arkwright takes matters in his own hand. Vernon Scripps has had a new "bright" idea. He has bought a surplus U.S. Army half-track tank to drive tourists around the countryside. But since he has a boil in a very private place David has to drive the half-track for him. David only flattens half the village trying to get the hang of it.

Josie Peters is number one in her class. The class is going on a field trip, but she thinks she cannot go because her family is too poor to pay for it. Her school has a fund for situations like that, but her father will not accept any charity and insists that he will get the money himself. The night before the field trip Ralph Peel, Len Peter's employer, is mugged and the proceeds of the day are stolen. Josie also has a crush on her teacher Roger Gifford, and when her father reads about it in her diary he believes that her fantasies about him are true. The ventriloquist Ernie Dobson has died and left his dummy Enoch to David, who treats the dummy like a real person and drives Vernon Scripps mad.

Alex Robinson stays at the Aidensfield Arms while he tries to purchase land. But Ian Sinclair has beaten him to it and closed the deal with a couple of potential sellers. Lord Ashfordly has invited Robinson to dinner and he asks Gina to accompany him. His car has a flat tire and they have to go in hers. Late in the evening she feels bad and has to go home. The next morning she wakes up in her car only a couple of hundred yards from Ashfordly Hall. The previous evening Sinclair is seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident, and everything suggests that Gina is responsible. Sylvia and Linda are singers in a band, and to ensure that nothing untoward happens their father hires Vernon Scripps to drive them to and fro when they have a gig. But the loud music soon gets too much for him and David has to take over. The two girls soon discover that David is a real push-over in the hands of young females.

Ellen Richards has a miscarriage, but both she and her son Anthony show signs of being beaten by her husband Ray. Ron Wiley has died and Bernie Scripps is in charge of the funeral arrangements. His brother Vernon gets the idea that they can do the catering as well together with his new partner Gloria Gray at the expense of Gina, who usually caters for special occasions. Not surprisingly he and the others suddenly find themselves banned from the Aidensfield Arms.. But Vernon may get more than he bargained for when Gloria's daughter Millicent turns up at his doorstep. Mike Bradley and Tricia Summerbee are very much in love with each other, but he is afraid to commit because of his failed marriage with Jackie.

Oscar Blaketon gets a major shock when he sees a man passing in a car. Blaketon is absolutely sure the man is Harry Bradshaw, who was one of the biggest villains in North Riding when Blaketon became sergeant at Ashfordly police station. The only trouble is that Bradshaw is dead and his death has been confirmed by two trusted police officers one of which is PC Ventress. PC Bradley is investigating a break-in at a renting cottage, but the only thing missing is the tenant John Baker. His body is later found in a quarry. He was murdered and it turns out he was an old accomplice of Bradshaw's. At the Woodside estates Geoff Atkins and his neighbour Syd Carter accuse each other of digging in each other's gardens at night. After his latest venture has gone badly wrong Vernon Scripps tries something completely new to him. He gets a regular job at a department store in Ashfordly. When the department store is closed down the old entrepreneur in him wakes up again.

Ralph Harrison gives his wife Penelope his late mother's diamond necklace as a wedding anniversary present and persuades .her to wear it to the fund raising disco at the Ashfordly Grammar School. During their absence their house is broken into, but only a set of teaspoons is taken. Sergeant Merton suspects that the thief was looking for something specific. He may be right because the following day the house is broken into again and the diamond necklace is taken. Gina is afraid of spiders. Vernon Scripps thinks that hypnosis may cure her and offers his services because he is an (instant) expert on hypnosis. When he is learning how to he accidentally hypnotizes David without noticing. Sergeant Merton continues to have dizzy spells and Dr. Summerbee finds out that he is diabetic. This may be bad for the good sergeant, but it most certainly causes warm feelings to develop between him and Dr. Summerbee's secretary Jenny.

Tommy Rawson breeds sheep dogs and he the favourite to win this year's trials as it has done two years previously with his dog Jess. His nearest competitor is George Harding, who is a close friend of Lord Ashfordly and used to have things his own way. When he cannot win fair and square he will stop at nothing to discredit Rawson and have his dog disqualified. Harding's wife Maureen is hardly any better. She has got severe anxiety and expects Dr. Summerbee to prescribe her pills for it at will. Vernon Scripps is providing lavatory facilities for the trials and he soon discovers that it involves more than just putting up a tent or two. Good news for Sergeant Merton. His diabetes will have no bearing on his position as sergeant at the Ashfordly police station as long as he gets his medication.

The bank has refused Richard Harvey a respite on his loan and will auction off his farm, but Harvey does not give up without a fight. It turns out to be a very mucky affair, literally, and that is just the beginning. Gina is smitten by Mark Jenkins, who hopes to make a good deal at the auction, but Oscar Blaketon has his doubts about him. Given Gina's previous experiences with men he is probably right. David makes horse radish sauce for Gina using his Auntie Beth's recipe. It is a very good sauce and Vernon Scripps thinks marketing it will turn a very good profit. He even promises David that he will have his name and picture on the labels.

Sergeant Merton gets a visit from his cousin singing star Deborah Vine. She likes Aidensfield so much she may even decide to settle down there. She is joined by her daughter Didi, an upcoming singer who has left her show because she is pregnant and does not want her father and manager Larry Prince to know. PC Bellamy spots the wanted criminal Scudamore while he is on patrol with PC Ventress. Scudamore is arrested, but manages to escape during transfer to Manchester. David gets a shock when he is supposed to unload Mr. Clough from his taxi and discovers that the old man has quietly passed away during the trip. Clough's daughter April needs a man (around her shop) after her father's death and takes an interest in David. Too much interest if you ask David.

Guy Foxton publishes and sells guide books. Unfortunately one of his guided tours crosses the private lands of Les Parnaby. When the police cannot do anything Parnaby decides to take care of the matter himself. It is not the first time Foxton has had a dispute about the right-of-way and PC Bradley kindly suggests that he removes the route from his guide and does not use it anymore, but Foxton is not forthcoming at all. David's and Vernon Scripps' lorry breaks down and PC Ventress gives Vernon a lift back to Aidensfield. On the way Vernon Scripps hits his head when Ventress has to avoid a sheep on the road. That bump changes his personality and makes him a kind, loving person. He even pays all his debts and gives David a two week holiday on his birthday.

Dirty Len Fairchild has died if of what seems to be tetanus, but turns out to be strychnine poisoning. Celia Beresford is in charge of the Ashfordly Rotary Club's annual old folks' outing to Whitby. She does not like that Vernon Scripps is away and David has to drive the old people and hijacks Oscar Blaketon to assist them. Shortly after she visits her father Fred Caldwell to "persuade" him to go on the outing her dog dies with the same symptoms as Dirty Len. It had been strolling on the Kirkby farm, where Len was a hired help. Sergeant Merton searches the Kirkby farm for the poison, but PC Ventress recalls another incident involving Fred Caldwell some years earlier. Caldwell claims he got rid of the strychnine then though. Then Celia's daughter Amanda gets ill on Caldwell's farm.

There has been a series of brand new tractor thefts in the area. They were all insured at the same company and stolen within days of delivery. Sergeant Merton reckons, Steve Calthrop will be the next victim and he tells his constables to watch Calthrop's tractor overnight. Calthrop sneaks out during the night to visit his mistress and while PC Bradley and PC Bellamy follow him his tractor is stolen. Vernon Scripps has a brand new idea. His latest venture is landscaping gardens beautiful enough to be the best of the village. The Naysmith-Jones's take advantage of his services, and since Vernon is not into the getting-your-hands-dirty part of the business as usual it is David's job to purchase the trees and plants for their garden - including a Greek statue that they want. He cannot afford the statue, but the garden centre salesman knows where he can get a cheap one second hand.

Cupid's little arrows hit everybody. Even Lord Ashfordly, who surprises everybody by introducing his new wife. On the first night in Aidensfield the newlyweds are held up by two masked and armed robbers. They especially seem to be targeting Lady Ashfordly, who is assaulted again the next day, and PC Bradley is assigned as her chauffeur and body guard. Joyce Jowett's sister has died and she needs Bernie Scripps' services as an undertaker. She is very demanding and as might be expected he cannot do well - or cheap - enough.

Gordon Purvis acts tactless towards Gina and Phil Bellamy tells him to finish his drink and go. Purvis does, but on his way out he hits Bellamy with his car and drives erratically. Unfortunately the charges against him are not sufficiently substantiated and Sergeant Merton lets him go with a warning. But Merton has another and more serious reason to let him go. Scotland Yard has Purvis under surveillance and has requested their assistance in this operation. PC Bradley is the best suited for the job, but he cannot tell anybody about it. The surveillance also includes horse trainer Kieron Doyle. Tricia Summerbee is smitten by Doyle's charm and takes him up on his offer to ride one of his horses. Thus the beautiful doctor unwittingly ends up in the middle of it all. Vernon Scripps gets a visit from his brother George, who he has never met. So he is very surprised to discover that George is actually a woman. He will also soon discover that she has a very expensive lifestyle.