Nick is astonished to discover that the shooter of a young protester at the opening of the duck season is none other than his sometime admirer, Dr Zoe Hamilton. She, of course, claims it was an accident, explaining that the chief protester grabbed her gun just as she was aiming at a duck. Adam gets an admirer of his own when he assists the pretty eighteen year old daughter of one of the duck shooters after she is injured in the melee. This is Stacey Norse, whose father Ken accuses the chief protester, Matthew Prentice, of stealing one of his ducks. Troubles escalate when Ken Norse falls seriously ill while eating his specially prepared duck lunch at the Imperial Hotel. When Zoe suspects poisoning, the Heelers wonder if it might have been Matthew Prentice, but when blood tests show that Norse is actually suffering from a severe case of lead poisoning, they must rethink the case. Because this condition would have taken some 13 years to accumulate, his own children, Stacey and her sixteen

There is a total fire ban. A frustrated PJ is seduced by Jo one night, while - in the other room - Ben gets progressively drunker. Later, as Jo and PJ lie awake, they smell smoke and realise the house is on fire. After rescuing Ben, they flee.

While they recover at the hospital, Jonesy arrives and tells them that all their belongings are destroyed. Ben claims an intruder knocked him out, so an arson squad is called. Meanwhile, Tess and Jonesy fight over her new marriage to Dr. Carmichael.

At the remains of their house, PJ finds a photo frame with Maggie in it, and pockets it but doesn't tell Jo. The arson squad discovers that it wasn't arson but a single candelabra - exactly what Ben had going.

Another fire has broken out, possibly started from the fire at PJ's

The 'hero' who entered PJ's house after the fire, Wayne Bayliss, is considered a suspect, particularly when a driptorch and a scrapbook of news articles on fires is found at his home.

The fire gets progressively worse and Jo, Be