Some men just disappear. They kiss their wives and children goodbye, saying they'll be home for tea and are never seen again. Stuart Leach is one such man. Thirteen months ago he set off from home to his job at Mackintosh Textiles and never returned. Until now...

And now that he's back, he cannot remember where he has been. In fact, as far as Stuart is concerned it is as if the last year does not exist. He has lost his memory, or so he claims. His wife, Sue (Alison Swann), and brothers - Martin and Kev - want some answers. Although happy that he is alive, Martin is not exactly pleased to see his brother back. Perhaps time may have stood still for Stuart, but while he was away, Martin and Sue had to deal with his disappearance, became close started sleeping together. Suddenly all Martin's hopes for a relationship with Sue are threatened.

Martin is desperate to find out exactly what did happen to Stuart in the last year. How did he come by the knife wound on his back? Who was he trying t

Exactly what is a woman supposed to do when the man she sleeps with kicks her out of their home, leaving her and her children with no where to go? This is the question facing Yvonne, a machinist at the factory. The one thing she does know, is that she will not take it lying down.

Burning down her house to claim the contents insurance seems like a good idea - that's the kind of woman she is. Yvonne is no victim. A sexy, funny and attractive woman, she has a history of relationships with aggressive, sometimes violent men, but she is a survivor who gives as good as she gets. Her absolute priorities are her three children, coupled with her determination to be independent and in control of her life. But her plan almost ends in tragedy when a misunderstanding means that Yvonne's children are asleep in the house when she sets fire to it. What has she done?

Fortunately for her, her next door neighbour, Jim Calvert, comes to the rescue, risking his life to save Yvonne's family. Jim is a happy b

KT's life is about to be turned upside-down. At the bottom of the factory's hierarchy, KT works the shopfloor and lives with his grandparents at home. The last thing he expects is to be seduced by Katherine, the glamorous wife of factory owner Mack. For KT, it is straightforward. He has fallen in love, pure and simple. Katherine's motives, on the other hand, are rather more complicated...

Young and attractive, Katherine appears to be the perfect partner for a successful, self-made businessman like Mack. Powerful, charismatic Mack is absolutely besotted with his wife. She is his most cherished possession; the only thing that matters more to him than his business. Katherine, however, does not feel the same way. On the outside, she has a fairytale life - a lady of leisure, with time on her hands to shop and lunch. In truth, she feels stifled and isolated as her inability to just walk out drives her further into this complicated entanglement.

By sleeping with Mack's youngest and most vulne

Steve Robinson, factory foreman and Mack's right-hand man, is trying to save his marriage. His wife Sylvia suspects he has had a fling, although Steve is admitting nothing. Steve has, in fact, been unfaithful once (with Mack's wife) but feels terrible about it. On the night of their wedding anniversary, he woos Sylvia back with a home-cooked meal and champagne. They manage to clear the slate and make up.

All seems well, but as they drift off to sleep, they are rudely awakened by an armed burglar. Steve fights the intruder, but this is only the start of their nightmare. When the police call round to investigate the assault, they find they are being victimised again - this time by the police, who are more interested in the remains of a spliff in their ashtray than in Steve and Sylvia's account of the break-in. Deciding to search the house, the police uncover a bundle of Ecstasy tabs in Steve and Sylvia's son Robbo's (Jason Sampson) bedroom. The discovery deepens the severity of the polic

Trudy, Mack's secretary, has spent her whole life looking after other people: her father, Mack, the employees at the factory. So busy has she been sorting out other people's problems that her own life has been on hold. And then her father dies - and suddenly Trudy doesn't have a role to play. In the midst of her bereavement, she is suddenly facing the hardest question in the world - what I am going to do with the rest of my life?

What do people tell you when you're bereaved - don't make any quick decisions that you might regret. But Trudy is not listening, she needs to make a change in her life. Actually, what she decides is to make two major changes.

She takes three weeks off work and checks herself into a private clinic to have her breasts enlarged. Anyone would tell her that this is the worst time in the world to have cosmetic surgery. But Trudy has not told anyone. Not a soul. The trauma of surgery leads Trudy to face the pain of her bereavement and the senselessness of her life. D