Mentally handicapped man - David Stockwell who lives with his elderly mother hears dogs barking in the woods at night and goes to investigate, but his mother follows him and gets injured in a hit and run when a Land Rover cuts her down in the woods. David runs to the pub for help and Nick and Kate get David's mother to the hospital. Nick asks David what happened and he tells Nick about the dogs and the Land Rover, however the next morning after David speaks to his mother his story changes and he insists she only fell. Nick suspects his mother is protecting someone and goes to the hospital to talk to her, but she also insists she fell. Nick is still suspicious and continues his investigation into the accident. Meanwhile David finds an injured badger in the wood and takes it home and with Kate's help nurses it back to good health. Nick meanwhile suspects the Land Rover was driven by badger baiter's and Claude shows him a recently dug up badger set near David's home. Nick then goes to see

Inspector Crossley from Whitby arrives at the police house to see Nick, but is angry to find the police house being used as a doctor's surgery by Kate. Crossley then goes to Ashfordly station where he's been expected expressing his annoyance about the situation. Blaketon and Nick both assure him however it's just a temporarily situation until Kate can find a new surgery. Crossley also informs Blaketon of some major changes in the Ashfordly area, which will include a far bigger beat for Nick. Kate in the meantime goes out with her old friend Sally, who's also a GP for a drink and a general chat. Sally tells Kate of a job that's going in Whitby, but Kate isn't interested. Sally then puts Kate's name forward to a Dr. James Radcliffe who owns his own practice in Whitby. Radcliffe writes to Kate offering her a job with his practice and Kate is then tempted to take him up on his offer, but Nick however is reluctant to leave Aidensfield. A coach trip meanwhile is organised to hear Gina sing a

Insp. Crossley has an interesting idea as to what has been responsible for a series of attacks on sheep - he thinks a puma did it - much to the Ashfordly Police's amusement!!!!!!!! He keeps to his theory until Alfred is put in the frame for the crime. Claude is ordered to have Alfred destroyed, Claude violently objects and even steels Alfred back. But Nick doesn't believe Alfred is to blame and catches the real culprits in time. They were sheep rustlers, and Blaketon has great fun in informing Insp. Crossley of this fact!

A Russian defector is on the run. A Russian ship docks in Whitby and a fight amongst the crew breaks out in a local pub. One sailor thinks he's killed his skipper and asks Nick for Political asylum. When Nick and Alf take him to the immigration office he makes a run for it and they lose him. Blaketon is not impressed but when the sailor finds out that he didn't kill the Skipper he says he needs to get back on the ship. Nick and Claude arrange a plan to sneak the sailor back onto the ship and it works. During all of this Greengrass has been trout poaching with a priest! Dr Radcliff's daughter goes missing on a cliff side and a search is mounted for her - she is found unharmed.