Lightfoot arrives at Big Sky with a deal to do special undercover, customs related work for him. Chris, under financial pressure from the new board, eventually agrees to one job to ascertain any further interest.

Jimbo is in denial about Jodie's condition, enjoying Max's company and pretending nothing will happen to change this. Despite trying to make Jimbo understand the reality of her situation, Jodie is also swept up by his optimism, desperately wishing it could be true.

Jimbo suddenly has cold feet about marrying Jodie. The responsibilities of looking after not just Max, but a sick woman, for an indefinite period, frighten him. He offers to take a long flight and finds himself contemplating escaping to a whole new life when he meets Marie, a country woman running her property alone.

Scotty and Rosie make an emergency landing on a beach to rescue a man, Ramon. Taken to hospital, the staff want to report the illegal immigrant. Scotty and Rosie discover him stowed away on their plane on their return to Sydney. He pleads for their help.

Paula's apparent secret other life as a volunteer charity worker for street kids comes to Chris attention when Lightfoot expresses interest in one of the kids she helps, a boy named Dean, who is in dire straits, trying to help his drug addict girlfriend Angie kick her habit.

Lightfoot entrusts Big Sky with their most important brief so far: to find a missing plane that was carrying one of Lightfoot's agents, Joy. She was on her way to give Lightfoot some highly valuable, but unspecified photographic evidence. Lightfoot considers the mission too important to entrust to Jimbo, and he is banished to a milk run.

Lightfoot apologises to Chris. If Chris wishes to know the truth about Lightfoot, then he makes the decision to step into the shadows with him and swear to the utmost secrecy. Chris agrees to the deal, then must cancel a date with Grace to fly Lightfoot to meet a senior military figure, Major Ellison and for the first time is included in the top level meeting.

Lightfoot is determined to find the remainder of the guns stolen from the army, as masterminded by Major Ellison. Keeping Ellison under constant surveillance, he is followed to a property owned by well known criminal figure, Mick Kounos. Kounos denies any involvement.

Chris vows to stand by Grace as she faces an internal enquiry regarding her apparent theft of drugs from the customs evidence room. She presents a plausible explanation for her actions to an internal investigations panel, and all seems well... until she receives a call informing her the panel cannot accept her explanation and will turn the matter over to the police.

Consumed by grief at Grace's funeral, Chris gets involved in an altercation with a driver who accidentally hits Grace's mother. Charged by the police, he is shaken by the incident and takes off in his car indefinitely. Along the way he acquires a hitch hiker, Leisa, a young girl running away from an abusive father.

On a routine flight, Chris and Jimbo divert to answer a medical emergency in the bush. On landing, they discover a man with a serious leg wound, whom Chris recognises as Cooley, one of the airforce pilots who had been charged over the theft of guns from the army.

Given the sinister nature of events uncovered involving an armed militia, a Pentagon connection, and the suspicious circumstances of Ian's death, Lightfoot asks Chris if he is willing to continue. Their own lives could be at stake now. Chris gives his pilots time to consider their decision, and all agree to carry on.