Gossip is spreading like wildfire through town about the fire brigade officer Eris Parsons shooting his dog. Eris and his wife Luisa aren’t around to set the record straight, they’ve gone into hiding. Seems like everyone in Lost River has something they’re trying to escape from.

Svettie is trying not to drown in her problems. Her husband’s uncle Jeff is holding the purse strings of her family’s finances and she’s tired of husband Backa not standing up for her. She runs away to a seaside hotel for a night of something she desperately needs; pampering.

While she’s away Backa must juggle his family and work life with the captaincy of the Lost River Rural Fire Brigade and it’s no easy task.

Backa’s younger brother Joey has returned to Lost River for Fifi and their unborn baby. But things aren’t the same anymore and the couple can’t seem to connect. Joey retreats to a caravan in order to figure his life out.

Meanwhile children’s book illustrator Lill is finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile work with the commitments that come with being part of the Lost River community and when her business partner KC arrives from Sydney, Lill realises she can’t escape. But there are other distractions in the form of firefighting and after accompanying Backa to the scene of a potentially dangerous fire Lill is hooked.

One of the realities of living in the bush is making the best out of a bad situation, which Lill and Perry are learning to do fast. Their shed has been overrun with rats, Perry is working on rebuilding their dream house after it was destroyed by fire and Lill struggles to meet an urgent work deadline in the surrounding chaos. It seems the world is conspiring against her. A regular commitment to drive Peg Beecher on a couple of errands turns into a lengthy nightmare when Peg falls sick and needs to get to a hospital. Backa is down at the station to receive the brigade's new fire truck. He is worried about crew numbers and pushes fire control officer Bryce to do a Basic Firefighting Course so Lill and the other recruits are trained up before the bush fire danger period really hits. Uncle Jeff has seized control of Backa and Svettie's finances and insists that Svettie undergo a weekly inquisition on the books. She comes up with a plan to make money so she can get her family out of Jeff's clutches. For this she needs the help of friends Sharpie and Rebekah, but it's not without risk. Fifi attempts a reconciliation with Joey but he's still confused by her previous behaviour and turns her away. Alone in her room, Fifi contemplates life as a single mother and how it will affect her future.

In a last bid attempt to save her failing shop and keep her family together Svettie has borrowed a large amount of cash from a loan shark. But she's keeping it a secret from Backa, telling him the sudden injection of funds has come from the sale of some milking machinery stored in their back shed. Now they're on easy street, for a while at least. In a mood to celebrate Backa and Svettie have the best day they've had in months, even years! The day soon heats up toward boiling point. At the Sharp's a lazy summer barbecue descends into chaos. Eldest son Hank has returned to Lost River and he's ready to cause as much trouble as possible - especially for Fifi. Hank can't forgive the fact that his younger sister is now all grown up and responsible and pushes to find the bad girl he farewelled when he went to jail three years ago. When Rolly Patterson arrives mid-party and makes a beeline for Fifi it seems Hank might get to see the old Fifi after all. There are others for Hank to 'play' with too, in the shape of Kieran and his girlfriend Noodle and when Perry's daughter Taz turns up, it's open season... Perry and Lill arrive at the scene to pick up a distraught Taz and it leaves Perry with a sinking feeling. Is he ready to become a parent the second time around? For Lill, one of the core promises of their relationship has been broken.

Backa dusts off his suit for a lunch meeting with the golf course developers. What Backa doesn’t know is that they need 40ha of Uncle Jeff’s property for their prospective resort.

Backa is surprised to find an old school friend, Sam O’Donnell in attendance. Sam is consulting as a lawyer for the group and has been enlisted to get Backa to convince Jeff to sell. As the two men reminisce over old days, Backa learns the real reason he’s being wined and dined. And there’s a sweetener on offer-they’ll buy the craft shop if he talks Jeff into selling. But Backa’s father’s ashes have been scattered on part of the 40ha and he’s left with a real dilemma. Svettie is thrilled, thinking they’ll be rid of the shop once and for all.

Lill decides to escape to a girls’ afternoon in the pool, but it’s no holiday. When the women start gossiping, Luisa learns that her affair with Mike was not a secret after all and she was not the only one-at least seven other women in town, including Ali! In the middle of the revelations, Lill’s business partner, KC, turns up with some bad news for Lill. KC has been offered a job on an older children’s novel that does not require illustrations and wants to put their partnership on hold. Lill’s career prospects seem suddenly shaky.

While Lill’s out, Perry and Patto decide to get the mud brick palace moving. Needing a few more hands, they’re off to the fire station to recruit Joey and Eris and the boys have their own afternoon getting stuck in the mud.