While Mel's life seems to be unraveling, the arrival of her mother, Gillian, only adds to her distress. When Gillian discovers Sean is now on the game, she offers him money to start a new career — something she never did for Mel. Lauren's job with Terence is becoming increasingly complicated, while Heather meets a married couple — Jack and Eloise — who want a threesome. It's the first time Heather's ever been paid to have sex with a woman.

Trying to avoid connection to Terence and ordered by Fiona to stay away from 232, Lauren is lying low but realises her greatest fear is her children finding out she is a sex-worker. She decides it is time to tell them what she does and books a trip to LA. Rattled by her strong sexual connection to Jack, Heather sets out to confirm that her lesbian tendencies are still firmly in place. Chloe questions her relationship with Josh as he returns from the tour.

A memory from the past, coupled with the growing health worries, see Mel's uncertainty about her future begin to manifest in the most unusual ways. But then she is made an offer to run a brothel in Abu Dhabi.

Sean has a client whose husband likes to watch her have sex. It's disturbing to Sean and when he and Nat argue about the weirdness of the situation, it further highlights their sexual differences.

A turn of events at work for Bernie and the subsequent therapy forced upon him by his boss sees Nat grow curious about the origins of her own fetish. This leads her to track down her mother, Loretta. It's an uneasy reunion for Nat, who finds the situation more confronting than she ever imagined it would be. Though Sean initially continues to struggle with the detritus of what happened with Alice, support from Nat and a particularly satisfying session with a client sees him charged with a determination to get over the incident once and for all. Lauren's relationship with John goes from strength to strength but the pull of her children sees her leave him behind when she heads off on a holiday to meet up with her daughter Kate in Hawaii.

Lauren's drinking is taking an alarming turn. A blackout sees her arrive home drunk in the back of the cab. When the police arrive on her doorstep with the news her car was found abandoned and smashed, she finds herself inadvertently withholding information which results in the police thinking her car was stolen. What Lauren comes to remember is quite different — and damaging. She got drunk, drove her car, careened it into a public place and travelled home passed out in a taxi. Mel lands back at 232 with a huge surprise. She's adopted a baby. Something which has happened swiftly and, judging from her nervousness, a role she's not all together convinced she's ready for. Sean however discovers he has a natural instinct with the baby and so, well aware of Mel's insecurities, offers to venture back to Abu Dhabi to help her settle into motherhood.