Mercy Peak

Amanda and Alastair continue their affair as Amanda fights Kieran for everything he's got. However, Amanda is not pleased that Kieran isn't fighting her back and giving in which causes severe tension in the Macefield home and ends up causing Sascha to go on a drink bender at a party. After Kieran sees what the divorce is doing to his kids he decides to fight and offers her 60/40 of the property and joint custody. Amanda decides to move to Auckland with Taylor and as she prepares to leave she tells Nicky what she thinks of her. As a parting gesture to Kieran she torches his new vineyard and leaves Alastair to wait at their motel room. Elsewhere, Ken asks Dana out on their first date together but it doesn't work out very well as he's called to an emergency rescue of a toddler and subsequent tries at dates always end with an emergency.

William and Alastair continue to be at loggerheads and Alastair tells him he is thinking of going back to Germany. Alastair admits Arthur to Pemberley Rest Home telling Enid it is only until his chest infection clears but Enid removes him because she doesn't like the way they treat him there. Nicky and William clash over her patient John and Alastair finds out that his mother committed suicide before she ever saw him. Todd continues to live in squalor and upsets Dana with his attitude. Enid and Arthur take an overdose of Arthur's medication so that they can be together but Gus discovers them and manages to get to Enid on time but Arthur has passed on.

Alistair decides to declare his feelings for Nicky after discovering that she has started a relationship with Cliff and Dana gets more than she bargained for after helping Ken in his recuperation. Nicky discovers Diane Peach's painful secret after her young pregnant daughter is brought into Mercy Peak - that she gave birth at 15 to a Downs Syndrome daughter. She asks Nicky to find out what happened to her. Nicky finds old records and finds that Diane's baby was not born with Downs Syndrome but adopted out by Diane's parents. Nicky and Cliff decide to investigate other cases and believe Gil's mother Matron Crouch was responsible but before they question her she dies in her sleep. She approaches William about his signature on some of the files and finds out that Alastair was also adopted in the same fashion as Diane's baby.

Nicky is annoyed to find that everyone at the local marae thinks she and Cliff are a couple. She agrees to go on a date with him but it doesn't end well as he fears he is second best to Kieran. The TV that he borrowed from the pub also gets stolen. Louise gets the blame for the budget over-run and takes her frustration out on Nicky. Todd's violent brother Cornell escapes from prison and kidnaps Ken stabbing him in the stomach with a screwdriver

Amanda Masefield asks to change her doctor - from William to Nicky. She then invites Nicky to join the Book Club. Afterwards she invites Nicky back to her home and asks her to take back the portrait of her that Kieran bought. Alistair meets Ulrike - a German backpacker but after having dinner with her she suffers a fit brought on by a severe ear infection. A good many town-folk come down with a roto-virus caused by leaking pikes which is discovered by Alistair. Arlene McNichol aims to become a member of the District Health Board much to William's annoyance. Later, Ulrike calls to see Alistair but William tells her he's with a friend - she gives William her contact details but after she has left he throws the details away.

Nicky feels she should be doing more to help the people of Bassett and sets about getting Liam's cleaner a hard to get appointment for a shoulder operation. Liam is suspended from school because he was caught smoking dope. William finds a new love and Ken is deeply affected by the recent car crash.

When Dana goes to visit a pregnant friend, Kyra, she thinks may have put her baby son in the washing machine. Dana finds this isn't so, but when she checks on the baby, she finds the child is dead. Dana is even more disturbed when Kyra doesn't mention her strange behaviour to William or Ken. Dana shares her worries with Todd, who thinks Kyra's partner Baz should be informed. What if she tries to harm their next child? Dana feels torn about breaching confidentiality, and is relieved when William shoulders the burden. William sees this as a golden opportunity to take issue with Rhonda, the midwife, who has snaffled most of his birthing business. Rhonda is thrown by the implication she's missed Kyra's problems. Dana visits Kyra to find her in a bad way. She removes her from the house, which distresses Baz, particularly as the body of the baby is being returned to the relatives. William supports Kyra. He believes she suffering depression and extreme sleep deprivation, and that she didn't h

Nicky gets an invitation to Chook and Lynda's wedding. Chook and Lynda are the garage proprietors, whose public arguments are notorious in Bassett. What the public doesn't see is that the relationship is also violent. When Nicky realises this, she encourages Lynda to think about the relationship - she's about to marry this man. Lynda doesn't seem to want to hear her. Despite her misgivings, Nicky feels bound to attend the hen night, which turns into a debacle, when Lynda announces that the wedding is off. Nicky was right. Nicky is in the spotlight as the woman who caused the wedding to be cancelled. Kieran is pleased about the cancellation. He's lost a booking, but his view of marriage is cynical. William, meanwhile, thinks Nicky's view of domestic violence is simplistic. Then Nicky confronts a very unhappy Chook, and a miserable Lynda. She also finds that Lynda feels to blame for some of their problems. Nicky assumes that Lynda is playing the victim, but Lynda denies it - she goads hi

When Alistair sees a man bullying his son, he wants to intervene. Alistair also feels anger towards his own father. Since he's twigged about William's affair with Louise, he feels he was dragged back to Bassett under false pretences. He feels sucked in badly, but unable to confront his feelings with William. Meanwhile, the psych survivors have a house, but hit a rock in the form of the council rezoning plans. William assures Gabrielle and supporters that things will work out, but Gabrielle doesn't trust William. One of the most vocal opponents of the psych survivors' house is Malcolm Sweet, councillor and sporting goods salesman. Malcolm's kid is admitted with concussion. Because Alistair saw Malcolm bully his son earlier and the kid has old bruising, Alistair is worried. But he also starts to suspect the kid may have some kind of disorder. He discusses his concerns with Malcolm's estranged wife, Sheryn. The conclusion she draws from their conversation is not what Alistair intended. Ke

William is not coping well with the end of his relationship to Louise. Uncharacteristically, he becomes something of a stalker and goes to her house to confront her. Louise is adamant that she won't reconsider, but as they conclude the conversation, Louise's husband Ross arrives home unexpectedly. William suspects that Ross has overheard the conversation. The feeling grows stronger when Ross insists on taking William by chopper to see a patient on an outlying farm. However, en route to this routine callout, Ross sees an injured man in the ranges. William is forced to join him on a tramp through the bush where Ross is holding the machete. The injured young man, Bryce, has shot himself and has a possible spinal injury, but the rescue helicopter is delayed. While they wait, Ross raises the topic of Louise and William is sure that it will end in confrontation. Instead, it seems Ross wants to discuss his relationship with Louise and more particularly, sex. The conversation is interrupted wh

Trauma registrar Nicky Somerville has a very bad night. She gets punched by a patient she is trying to save, then realises her boyfriend is having an affair. What's worse is her boyfriend is also her boss. A fresh start takes her to the small town of Bassett - only to find that she may be without a job. Her appointment hasn't been ratified by her new boss, Dr William Kingsley - but Nicky is adamant that she can't go back to town. Nicky makes waves by deciding to admit the victim of a car accident. When the resuscitation isn't straightforward, she discovers that the patient, Amanda Masefield is on anti-depressants. Her actions with Amanda only serve to make her more unpopular with William, who makes it clear she's not wanted. However, the administrator Louise seems desperate for her to stay. These reactions make her feel that something is rotten in the state of Bassett and with Dr Kingsley in particular. Nicky takes a depressed trip to the supermarket, where the manager seems determined