Black police constable Nigel Spenser arrests suspect Makin in the early hours of the morning and then finds himself faced with a brutality charge. Paul Dangerfield is faced with an ethical dilemma when Spenser's superior, DI Ken Jackson, puts pressure on him to help get Nigel off.

Matters are made more irritating for the police surgeon when Ken contacts him in the middle of his first date with sultry barrister Kate Durrani. Things look bad for Nigel until Matthew Evans' body is found in his garden and the property in the Makin's car is proved to have been stolen from Evans' house.

Elsewhere, the case of a suspicious death involving elderly Sarah Harris, one of Joanna's patients, is solved when her husband Brigadier Harris admits to a mercy killing.

Paul's son Marty gets caught up in an accidental shooting which results in the death of local farmer Hilton. Matters are further complicated when Joanna misdiagnoses the Keen's colicky baby whose father, mentally ill Roger, is the man who worked for the deceased Hilton and whom DI Jackson suspects of the killing.

Later, Paul and Ken Jackson are furious when they learn of Marty's involvement in the accidental shooting because Roger Keen is clearly volatile and mentally unstable. Whilst in police custody, Roger's baby son is rushed to hospital and is taken to see him. Back at the police station he has a relapse and is committed again, despite being cleared of murder. Paul returns home to confront Marty and in the heated row that follows, Marty blames him for killing his mother Celia! Joanna calls round and has a go at Dangerfield for getting involved in the baby case and refuses his invitation for a drink to talk about it.

Paul Dangerfield promises to keep a deadly secret - for 24 hours. Stephen Millwood, an old patient of Paul's, is accused of committing arson to claim the insurance money to support his family. Arrested for murder and arson, Stephen tells Paul that he admitted to the crime that his wife Angie really committed. Stephen tells Paul he has AIDS but his first concern is his daughter Sophie, who is about to take an important exam. He persuades Dangerfield to speak to an unconvinced Ken Jackson to get him bail so he can return home.

Meanwhile, concerned father Mr Heath brings his daughter Clare to the surgery and demands that she is seen immediately. Later, at school, Clare collapses and is rushed to hospital, where her pregnancy is revealed but the foetus is in the wrong place. She insists her father is not told the truth but it could spell trouble for the practice, when Mr Heath threatens to sue.

As Paul, Al and Kate enjoy a game of armed combat, Marty packs a bag and leaves home, feeli

The first of a two-part story.

Paul Dangerfield is called to examine suspected rape victim Diane Foster. A man called David Walsh is pulled in on the charge and is represented by Paul's girlfriend, solicitor Kate Durrani. Soon the tension grows between Paul and Kate through their differing views of the case.

Meanwhile, Ken Jackson puts pressure on Paul to come up with some firm forensic evidence to nail David Walsh.

When it emerges that heart attack victim William Burford has videotaped a murder, Paul Dangerfield and Ken Jackson are faced with a complex moral dilemma. Deciding it best to protect the dead man's wife Lesley and their kids Claire and Michael because he was clearly a 'Peeping Tom', Jackson destroys the videotape. However his actions come back to haunt him when he later learns from Paul that a murdered woman, Susan Wainwright, might have been on the video.

Meanwhile closer to home, Alison is worried about her brother Marty and heads off to Wales to find him.