In one day successful city lawyer, Laura Gibson's world falls apart. Laura grabs at a position as magistrate in a small coastal town and with two bewildered kids in tow sets off to change their lives forever.

Laura's first days in Pearl Bay are a far cry from life in the city she has left behind. As the new magistrate she flounders, ill-equipped to deal with the idiosyncrasies of local residents.

Meredith's niece, Carmen, breezes into town and announces she's not only pregnant but also facing criminal charges for obtaining goods by deception as a restaurant reviewer.

Laura's puzzled by the town's attempts to guide her judgement when faced in court by an admired resident who turns out to have a very shady past.

Laura's sister, Trudi, visits Pearl Bay to heal the rift caused by her affair with Jack. Her attention is diverted to Dan who may well fall for her charm as every other male in town appears to have.

Diver Dan gives Laura some tips on how to become accepted in Pearl Bay, but Laura decides that in court she has to be her own woman.

With the kids away in camp, Laura's thoughts turn to a quiet dinner with Diver Dan until Dan's wife turns up suddenly in Pearl Bay.

Laura becomes increasingly convinced that she is living alone in a world made of couples - the arrival of an invitation to the annual magistrate's dinner-dance spurs her to bite the bullet and invite Dan.

The death of a teenage boy on a road is investigated and the whole town is distressed. Rupert is trying to do a project on His Favourite Thing but doesn't know what to do. Jules feels she is responsible for Jerome's death, as do his mother and Rupert. Dan tries to help Rupert but sparks up fights with the whole town when he gets drunk. The inquest discovers Jerome killed himself and Rupert and Dan bond.

Laura is introduced to the magic of Brabey Point - a local 'parking spot' where legend has it, strange things happen - especially when it comes to romance.

Justice is played out on stage by the Pearl Bay Dramatic Society and in Laura's courtroom.

Old feelings reawaken in all the Gibsons, exacerbated when Laura is offered a tempting job by her old firm.

Pearl Bay is going to change forever. Bob's dream to open Pearl Bay to the outside world is about to be realised.

Bob is distraught after the council has been fired. Worried that he will be involved, Bob must track down the Port Deakin mayor. Karen returns from her travels to split up with Angus and find a new job. Angus takes some time off from his role as Court Clerk. Max must fight to keep his boatshed from being destroyed.

With the Fire Brigade dance looming, Laura struggles to get a date. Max is taken with the new Latin Dancer and even Griff has a date in Karen! Jules is arrested for theft, much to Heather's dismay and the dance is the fire of everyone's emotions. Max and Laura however seem to be getting on well - dancing on the pier in the moonlight.

Laura joins the Women's Auxilary to be a part of the town's women. Meredith and Karen try to stop her, but she won't. The newly elected president - Vicki Drury, wife of Dave, is opposed to Heather and her ""minions"" - Phrani and the like, but Laura joins anyway. Angus discovers he is too predictable and changes his timetable, causing Kevin to get into all sorts of troubles. Max and Carmen go on a stakeout but it ends up turning into a night of love.

After Max and Carmen's affair, Carmen goes to the city for a job interview. The whole town thinks he took advantage of her and shuns him. Laura has no idea though. Bob convinces the town to boycott Port Deakin, causing Phrani to be at a loss for supplies. The town has to pitch in to help. Morton Tregonning is the only person who Max thinks can help - with a vision of the Robert James Jelly Tunnel connecting Port Deakin and Pearl Bay - much better than a bridge!Bob is sucked in and cancels the boycott. Sergeant Grey meets a group of hippies who are fighting over Television. The leader is Harold's nephew. In a court battle, Laura is put to the test.

Carmen returns, deciding to take the job because she knows Max really loves Laura

The new court reviewer, Warwick Munro takes an instant delight to Laura and they start dating. Max tries to stop them but to no avail.

Angus gets in big when he pretends to have a surfing company to impress legend Mark Richards. The town TRY to help and when Angus' surfboard is stolen he will go to great lengths to get it back.

As Bob is sucked into Mortons plans he has little idea what lies in store...

Griff is being kicked out of his home and moves into the Jelly's house. Laura tries to help him using a law of Adverse Posession. As Laura continues to see Warwick, the town grows to like him and wonder what Max will do. Trudi is back in the town and Rupert is fond of her child. However, Laura is not impressed and still will have nothing to do with her.Kevin and Phrani continue to work on their relationship after moving in does nothing

An old friend of Max's arrives in town but no-one seems to like him when he is locked up for breaking Grey's trumpet. As music fills the jail all weekend, Grey and the prisoner have to bond to survive. Laura and Max consider their friendship and the entire town seems to be contemplating the future. Grey is rejected from the police band to his dismay and the town is left wondering if their lives are really good or just blowing in the wind

Laura's mother, June, arrives in town during a geriatric traffic crime spree. June's suspiciously sudden appearance is more of an inconvenience than a pleasure for Laura, who is too caught up in her own life to sense her mother's sadness. When Laura eventually discovers her father's declining health has forced June to place him into respite care, she is forced to reassess her priorities.

Max begins to spend more time with his father and his friends, learning of Pearl Bay's real, great, textured history. However, Bob has his own interpretation of the town's past and plans to turn Pearl Bay into Ye Olde Pearl Bay : a sure-fire tourism hit. Max plays along with Bob's redundant plan for his own entertainment. When judgement day arrives and the city tourist agents descend on the town, instead of letting Bob hang himself, Max turns an inevitable disastrous slide show into a tribute to the older citizens of Pearl Bay.

Meanwhile Harold feels the grip of old age tightening. His frustration is w

Laura's ego is battered when she is not chosen to speak during Eminent Persons Week at Rupert's school. Laura heads off to the principal's office under the guise she is concerned about her son's education. She should be, her visit brings Rupert's report card fraud to the attention of Ms Philby. But perhaps worst of all for Laura, Warwick has asked her to marry him.

The corrupt former Port Deakin councillors are finally brought to trial before Laura. Max is suspicious as to who pays the councillors' entourage of legal eagles - headed by an old associate of Laura's, Hilary Tonks Q.C. Naturally, when Max and Hilary meet at Laura's dinner party, Max can't help but stir things up. An emotional argument ensues catapulting Laura into accepting Warwick's proposal.

Meanwhile, Heather is excited to learn she is the recipitent of a prestigious real estate award. When Bob mocks her legitemate success, Heather packs up and leaves...for good. Bob plummets to rock bottom when Morton threatens Mr Jell

Kevin is acting strangely. He heads out of town without Phrani, won't speak more than three words at once and most worrying of all...he's wearing slacks. Phrani's worrying is appeased when Kevin's sister, country singer Suzy, arrives in Pearl Bay to claim their recently dead father's silver guitar. The case ends up before Laura where Suzy's adamant belief her Dad was a member of the ""Master's Apprentices"" is challenged...and eventually proven correct, resulting in a cliff side tribute concert.

Laura is reluctant to spread the news of her impending marriage but she is keen to sever all legal ties with Jack. However, when Jack pays Laura what he owes, she is left feeling unexpectedly hollow. Karen, too, is eager to even the scales. After Karen reveals her continental infidelity to Angus, she inisists he has an affair to compensate...while Meredith has her own way to keep Harold on his toes.

Construction work finally begins on the tunnel site, arousing Max's curiousity. When Max doesn't k

While Laura's on a one way track to the altar, Maxs announces he has accepted a lucrative job with an international newspaper and will be leaving Pearl Bay - and Laura - behind. Of all things, a trivia night question causes Max to reassess his life. Max is reminded of his likeness to the mariner in Colerdige's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', who shot an albatross, his potential saviour. In other words, Max realises he should stop making a habit of sabotaging his own happiness.

Meanwhile, Bob launches his campaign with Morton at the reigns. Mr Jelly receives female attention from his forward image consultant, Astrid Moore, prompting Bob to warn Heather she'll let a tiger out to play if she doesn't take him back. Heather knows Bob couldn't cheat on him no more than she could on him. Her theory is proved when a terrified Bob bails out a restaurant toilet window to escape Astrid's advances.

Trudi finds herself in court...as Vietnamese interpreter. As the case unravels, the defendant is

Laura desperately wants to be honest with Warwick about her night with Max, but the moment constantly eludes her. To compound on her anxiety, Jack, distraught since Trudi left him, refers to Laura as the 'good', faithful sister. Work is no help either. Barry Boston and his ex-lover, Ari, are in battle trading accusations of deception and passionless love.

With the rocky Jelly marriage creating bad PR, Morton threatens Heather into supporting Bob to keep face. However, newly independent Heather can not be swayed and throws her support behind the new candidate on the block - Meredith. To add to Bob's woes Craig goes through a sexual crisis, closely observed by a bemused Miranda. Yet despite the setbacks, Bob's campaign rolls on with Morton in the driving seat. Max's investigations reveal Morton plans to turn Pearl Bay into a nucelar wastedump! An incredulous Bob goes public and withdraws his nomination.

Meanwhile poor Karen bravely accepts her fate as the 'dude bride' at her forthcoming

While Laura suffers the fallout of a cancelled wedding, 'The Oyster' - publishing anti-nuclear material - is seized. Max and Phrani conjure a plan to keep the newspaper in print but Morton Tregonning prepares to open the nuclear waste dump regardless...just as soon as the tunnel is completed. After protesting at the tunnel site, Miranda and Craig are arrested for trespassing.

When Laura learns all police and legal authority in town are Morton's Port Deakin stooges - including her new co-worker, Port Deakin magistrate, Tucker - she is angered. Feeling utterly powerless, Laura quits her position as magistrate, deciding to defend Miranda and Craig herself. Tucker's bias and corrupted self ensure the case will be impossible to win until Max discovers an anomaly which saves the day...but not the fate of the town. As the ends of the tunnel come close to connecting, the locals pray for a miracle...which comes in the form of a natural disaster courtesy of an enexpected source...Meredith.

Frust

After losing her job in Africa, former magistrate Laura Gibson returns to Pearl Bay to visit her daughter. But after two decades, Pearl Bay has changed in ways that will challenge everything Laura believes about life, love and family.

Laura tries to convince Miranda to keep her newborn baby. Fin reveals his romantic side to Miranda during the full moon. Laura is shunned by the people of Pearl Bay after she orders Ben to close his pub.

Miranda's world is rocked when her half-sister makes a surprise return to Pearl Bay. Laura is heartbroken over Anna's plans to adopt baby Joe.

Stella's secret plan to save Pearl Bay has dire results for Miranda and Fin. Bob Jelly feels the heat when his business partner gets out of prison.

Miranda is desperate to hide her romantic past from Fin. Laura helps Ben mend his broken heart and rediscover his love of Pearl Bay. Kevin's dreams come true when a past love returns to Pearl Bay.

Bob Jelly launches a cunning plan to reclaim his dodgy cash from the police station. Laura receives a valuable life lesson from Ben. Miranda teams up with Fin to win the annual fishing competition.

Fin helps Miranda with her dream of starting a marine centre, but at what cost? Laura's life is in crisis when Ben's ex-wife applies for her job as Magistrate.

Laura, Miranda and Bob Jelly join forces to save Pearl Bay from destruction. Miranda is forced to confront her true feelings for Fin.