Sharon visits Tracey's luxury house, 'Dalentrace', in Chigwell and meets Dorien for the first time. Meanwhile, their husbands, Chris and Darryl, take part in an armed robbery and are later jailed for twelve years. Sharon moves from her high-rise Edmonton flat to stay at Dalentrace with her sister.

While Sharon is ecstatic that her no-good husband Chris has been sent to prison, Tracey is desperately missing her beloved Darryl and is on tranquilizers. Now she faces another hurdle - trying to find a way to tell her son, Garth, that his father is in prison.

Sharon's day hasn't started well. She accidentally breaks a mug and spills coffee everywhere and then Tracey accuses her of not paying her way. Tracey is having problems with money, so she and Dorien try to sell some clothes. Meanwhile, Sharon has to go back to her job at the supermarket, but she isn't feeling welcome.

Tracey thinks she might be pregnant. However, on visiting the doctor, Sharon is horrified to discover she is pregnant by Dave, a man she has only recently met. Tracey can't stop herself telling Dave, who is delighted and immediately phones his mother with the good news. Sharon then confesses to Tracey that she has had an abortion.

Sharon is indignant on discovering that 'Fat Stan', to whom she's sublet the flat in Edmonton, is using the property to store goods, as well as prostitutes. Nevertheless, it does bring about a money-making scheme. Tracey, meanwhile, is still suffering from a combination of depression and financial problems. She and Dorien go out to a dinner-and-dance, where Tracey gets hit on by Dorien's husband Marcus.

Sharon is considering divorcing Chris and Dorien has football hero Patsy Edwards temporarily living in her house, who becomes very fond of Tracey. She doesn't want to be unfaithful to Darryl, however she suspects him of having an affair with a mysterious woman called Juliet.

Tracey receives two tickets for a "Christmas Cruise" in the post - a romantic surprise planned by Darryl before being sent to prison. He booked two tickets as he wanted it to be just Tracey and him, thinking Garth would be on a school trip. Tracey decides to take Garth, annoying Sharon who wanted to go. When Garth telephones to say he will not be home for Christmas, Tracey refuses to go at all. However, Dorien devises a plan to get Tracey and Sharon to go on the cruise.

Darryl is in hospital and plans to escape for one night so he can be with Tracey. With the help of a nurse, the police guard is drugged and Darryl and Tracey go to a hotel. Meanwhile, Sharon is spending the night with Martin, an artist she recently met. The following morning, the taxi Darryl and Tracey are in is stopped by the police and the driver is arrested for drink-driving. Tracey rings Sharon, who then drives with Dorien to pick Darryl and Tracey up and take them back to the hospital. They get back just after the guard wakes up and doesn't realise Darryl escaped.

Chris owes two fellow prisoners £3000 and their wives threaten Sharon and Tracey. Chris has a plan to raise the money which involves Sharon going to Germany to pick up a collectable car that he had while in Germany with the Army during the Cold War. Sharon manages to win a week in Berlin on the game show Second Time Lucky presented by Leslie Crowther. She is accompanied by Barry, the show's other winner and Tracey. Sharon and Barry don't get on well and try to keep separate as they tour the city with the cameras while Tracey tracks down the car, with the help of mechanic Manfred. Tracey and Manfred soon start to fall in love with each other. Back in England, Tracey ends their relationship over the telephone when she realises how much she loves Darryl. However, Manfred still sends the car over. Meanwhile, Luke dumps Dorien and she tries to get more romantic with Marcus, who she soon discovers is having an affair with a younger woman.

Chris wins the premium bond, so Sharon tries to force his signature to keep the money for herself. Meanwhile, when Tracy visits Daryl, she finds him to be unkept and unclean. When Sharon comments on this, Tracy kicks her out.

Chris and Darryl are temporarily in Albany prison on the Isle of Wight. Sharon cancels her visit for Dorien so she can interview Chris about sexual deprivation for her OU dissertation. But while Dorien becomes the centre of attention, Tracey becomes a victim of food poisoning after eating at a motorway cafe.

Sharon has a new man in her life, Gil, and this time it could be the real thing as far as she's concerned. The only trouble is that he wants her to move to Norfolk with him and Tracey is not happy. Oddly enough though it's Chris,who is having problems in prison, who persuades her to stay.

When the case against Darryl's associate Trevor Mimms is thrown out of court due to unreliable evidence from Inspector Tatum - who arrested Darryl and Chris - the sisters wonder if their lads might have been fitted up by Tatum and start a campaign to free the Chigwell Two. Tracey goes on daytime TV and finds a lawyer to fight the case but she comes to realise that she may be kidding herself. Dorien is unsympathetic until Marcus is arrested as a suspected drugs baron. When Trevor gets sent down for another robbery the sisters realise the truth but he does give them a Christmas bonus,as do Tatum and,after Marcus' name is cleared, Dorien.

When the police want to use Tracey and Sharon's home for a surveillance operation, the girls suspect a new neighbour, but the solution proves closer to home.

Someone famous is moving to Chigwell. She's guarded by heavies, and her children are called Harry and William. It's no wonder Tracey, Sharon, and Dorien draw the obvious conclusions.

Dorien's spending sprees are ever-more lavish - but why?

It's Christmas Eve. After over-indulging, Sharon nods off and dreams of a very different life. Chris is a rich and famous pop star, she is his glamorous diva wife, and Dorien is their virginal spinster cleaning lady. Tracey, meanwhile, is a down and out, living in a council flat with her layabout husband Darryl and their delinquent son Garth.

After his release, Chris swiftly finds himself back inside- this time in a hospital bed.

Dorien is holed up in a Lake District hotel, devising juicy titbits with journalist David Kane. Sharon has started thinking about adoption, while Garth is worried about his dad. The sisters set off to visit their husbands in their new prison, Slade, while Dorien is pampered in the hotel.