Bill and Nick are slowly rebuilding their relationship—when Nick becomes a suspect in a break and enter—and is questioned about his friend Jack Reeves (Shaun Goodfellow), who he knows is probably responsible, but is reluctant to give him up. Meanwhile, Bill deals with a woman Justine (Roslyn Oades), who claims she was robbed at an automatic teller machine and that the offender escaped by stealing her car and abducting her three-month-old baby. Due to Jack's police record he is now the prime suspect in the theft and abduction, the pressure escalates when the baby is found dead. Nick is convinced that Jack is innocent and encourages Bill with Maxine's help, to pursue other possible suspects and uncover the real offender. Meanwhile, Kate Holbeck begins her detective traineeship at Central, and finds herself resented by other detectives when they discover her father is a uniform sergeant also stationed at Central.

A mentally disturbed man is arrested after a vicious hammer attack leaves another man dead.

Bill and Charlie attend the aftermath of a bank robbery, from which the robber escaped with a hundred thousand dollars and left a trail of trauma in his wake. Back at the station, Bill and Charlie view the bank security video, which has captured the robbery on tape. Although the robber is masked, Bill eventually recognises the culprit as Derek Lamb (Jim Moriarty), who has a chequered past and who Bill also put in prison six years ago—this realisation is confirmed when Bill received, in the mail, a photo of himself with a cryptic message on the back. We discover the reason for Lamb's deep antipathy towards Bill. It's fuelled by the fact that in capturing Derek the first time, Derek's father was shot dead by Bill. Meanwhile, Maxine is visited by Tom Wallace, a freelance journalist and travel writer who is writing an article about inefficiencies in the welfare safety net. He wants to interview Maxine about her work and the role of the Crisis Centre. As the interview takes place we see a spark of romantic interest between them. Bill starts to show signs of stress as he receives another photo of himself from Derek Lamb. Meanwhile Bill is at his lowest emotional ebb over his son Nick and Derek commits another robbery at the same bank as before, although this time Derek has been stabbed in his shoulder with a letter opener. Bill finds a reminder left at the scene for him by Derek—a photo of Nick.

Bill and Charlie investigate the remains of a body buried in the foundations of a derelict house. The hands and teeth have been removed by the killer to reduce the chance of identification. Bill identifies the body only to realise that the serial bank robber (Derek) he has been hunting has been using the identity of the mutilated body in the foundations. Meanwhile, Derek (Jim Moriarty) has Maxine in his clutches and Bill puts the clues together almost too late, bursting into Maxine's apartment to find Maxine bound to a chair. Maxine is spared but Bill is unaware that his son is becoming the next target. Bill intercepts Derek's next hit on a bank to find his son sitting in the driver's seat of the stolen vehicle. Derek manipulates Bill, knowing that if he admits to conspiracy to break and enter, Nick will be implicated and go down as well. Bill is in a lose, lose situation.

Cultural tension between gangs in an inner city high school reaches boiling point when a member of the Asian gang—Bing Ling is killed. Phong Ling (Tai Nguyen)—Bing's brother, fighting the grief he feels at his brother's death, becomes increasingly violent. With Maxine's help, Bill realises the heart of Phong's problem lies in the relationship he has with his father. Phong is angered by his father's pragmatic approach to migrating to Australia which Phong believes has been to the detriment of his own cultural identity and family pride. Maxine is also having difficulties with her own daughter Simone (Abbie Cornish) who attends Bing's school. While trying to uncover who was responsible for Bing's death, Simone's Maths teacher Aiden (Vince Poletto) becomes a suspect. Simone knows that Aiden wasn't responsible, but the only way she can clear his name is to say how she knows he couldn't have been there… which means revealing the affair she is having with her teacher to the police. When Maxine discovers the truth, she has to come to terms with her daughter's growing sexual maturity and independence.

Kate and Charlie find themselves in conflict in the lead up to the inquest into her shooting of Gordy Gilmour. Bill acts as mediator between the two in his efforts at re-establishing the 'team' they had before this incident. Kate feels detached from the force as Charlie gives her the cold shoulder instead of support, making her feel like she's being unfairly judged for doing her job. Meanwhile, Maxine has to deal with Simone, who is copping it sweet from school, after her affair with the teacher.

Nadia brings her friend Holly to Maxine, claiming they were attacked by a man with a knife. Bill gets the whereabouts of the incident and follows it up with Charlie and Kate while Maxine takes Nadia to the hospital, rushing Holly to surgery. Karen, Holly's mother, arrives just as the paramedics give up on her daughter. From Nadia's account of the incident, Bill begins to suspect Dale, a man who raped and knifed a young girl some time ago, but Dale escaped from a murder charge as the case was badly handled and no conviction was handed down. Vince, acting as Dale's lawyer denies Dale was anywhere near the place of the incident. Bill sets about trying to build a case against Dale. Bill tries to get Nadia to do a line-up where Dale is featured, but Nadia can't go through with it. Bill is depressed to lose Dale as a suspect, but Vince gives him a clue that helps in a search of Dale's house.

After a young sex worker is found strangled, Vincent finds himself on the wrong side of the law. Vince thinks he's had a night to remember. However, it quickly turns when he finds himself neck deep in murder and sex films. And his main hope at getting through it all is Headnoises—a Wolf Crier for years. Meanwhile, Bill's been burnt by Headnoises in the past and it won't happen again, or so he thinks. This episode is about who to believe when things aren't what they seem. It's about grabbing thrills for their own sake and losing your way.

McCoy, Kate and Charlie investigate the murder of the wife of a wealthy importer and the husband becomes a prime suspect.

Confusion reigns as Vince receives his blood test results—these results force him to confront his father about his background, which also unravels secrets and deceptions. This revelation sends him on a quest to uncover his Aboriginal ancestry. Meanwhile, Vince stumbles across four homeless aboriginal people in a local park—all of them are deceased—he sends out a distress call to the police. Bill and Charlie arrive at the crime scene and are mystified about what happened. Tensions escalate as discrimination in the local community is heightened due to the recent aboriginal deaths—which have now been linked to a batch of home brew laced with rat poison. Prominent local publicans and surrounding businesses have been questioned and are also under observation. Maxine and Bill reluctantly come to terms with the fact that Vince needs to find his roots—Vince finds himself questioning his self-worth and sets out on a trek to unearth the facts about his genealogy.

The Crisis Centre is invaded when Vincent's replacement arrives. She is Louise Arden (Mary Coustas), a tough, slick lawyer who appears to come from a privileged background, and in her former practice, dealt with clients from the upper echelons of society. Louise seems to have come to the Centre with little social conscience or commitment, and Maxine is worried that the people who need her help most are going to take a back seat. Louise finds herself immediately involved in two cases simultaneously. Gretel Duncan is accused of trying to run down her estranged husband, Warwick. Mick Travis, a drunken ex-con, is charged with the attempted murder of his former landlady. Both cases demonstrate Louise's professional capability, and give us a taste of her tactics and attitudes. Bill and Maxine are left to contemplate the arrival of Cyclone Louise. What they don't know yet is that Louise's stylish lawyer facade is exactly that. Her roots lie on the wrong side of the tracks. Her brother has done time for armed robbery. He's out, and on her doorstep. Meanwhile, Kate and Charlie are distracted by something else—each other—and despite Kate's attempts to avoid a relationship with a colleague, they can't keep their hands off each other.

Kate puts herself in danger at a crime scene in which Louise's brother may have been involved. Meanwhile, at the Crisis Centre, Louise takes on Jasek's case. When it comes to ambition, Louise is as ruthless as they come. She quickly recognises the case as one which may bring her notoriety within the legal profession and in the media.

When the body of a girl is found buried in a park, a cab-driver and former client of Maxine's becomes the prime suspects. Meanwhile, Bill gets a postcard from Nick inviting him and Maxine to come visit. Bill is pleasantly surprised when Maxine shows interest.

Charlie's relationship with Kate sails into some stormy waters. Meanwhile, Wilt Bolton's car yard has been broken into overnight and Wilt's $250,000 new Ferrari is missing, along with the security guard who was supposed to be looking after it. Maxine is visited in her surgery by Leonie, a pregnant fourteen year old girl who wants an abortion.

Charlie is becoming increasingly frustrated because he has little to go on. The serial rapist abducts and drugs his victims, tortures them and dumps them in the park. His victims are all young males who are reluctant to come forward and talk about their trauma. Meanwhile, Kate has raised with Charlie the question of marriage. In spite of his feelings for Kate, Charlie is freaked out by this. His anxiety is heightened considerably by The Mask investigation—his personal involvement in the hunt for a sexual psychopath who preys on young men. Keiran Palmer—one of Maxine's patients attempts suicide. At the scene Charlie finds a note that Kieran had scribbled, and from what Charlie can make out, it says 'kill the mask'. Charlie is intrigued by this, and when he follows it up he finds that Keiran too is a victim of The Mask. Around this time, some strange inconsistencies in Kieran's statement and his subsequent behaviour lead Charlie and Kate to suspect that Keiran is not a victim, but perpetrator. A late night discovery of Keiran cruising the home turf of the rapist sets in motion a series of events which culminates in a bizarre one-on-one showdown between Charlie and Keiran, where Charlie ventures into the private idaho of the rapist and finds there-in his own demons.

Kate is annoyed when Charlie released Roxanne without consulting her. On her way out of the station, Roxanne sees one of her main clients—a man she calls the Silver Medallist—better known to Charlie as Graham Holbeck, Kate's father. The next day, Kate, Charlie and Bill are called to an apartment where they find Roxanne beaten to death. Marvin Hoppe, one of her clients is still at the scene and declares his innocence, saying he was in love with Roxanne. Charlie is convinced that Marvin had something to do with the murder. Deakin is put on Marvin's tail while Charlie and Kate go back to the scene, searching for clues. Charlie interviews Roxanne's next door neighbour and discovers that Graham Holbeck was in fact in her room last night. Charlie confronts Holbeck with this information. Holbeck of course denies everything, but feeling the pressure he goes to his daughter, who lies and provides an alibi for her father. Charlie recognises the lie for what it is and confronts Kate. The argument escalates out of control. The engagement is off and both are left to ponder the future of their relationship.

When a homeless man is found incinerated, Bill and Charlie investigate. The prime suspect is a patient of Maxine's, Alistair who was seen by an intoxicated witness, earlier on the night he was killed. Meanwhile Maxine is in the middle of dealing with Alistair's friend, Josh, whose abusive father is furious at Maxine for intercepting their family troubles.

A million dollars worth of cocaine goes missing in a drugs bust and Bill is under pressure to get it back. Louise is at a high point in her career and Natasha reveals that she is pregnant and wants to escape her violent and abusive marriage before having the child.

Adi Asimovic knocks on Maxine's door in the middle of the night. His daughter Vildana has not returned home, he is frantic, hoping she is staying with Simone at Maxine's house. Realising both daughters are missing, Maxine plays a phone message back, hearing an hysterical cry for help. Bill and Charlie locate the cab driver that picked up the girls that night and after much questioning, they find out the description of a car that was in the area. The investigation takes a sharp turn, when it turns out the brother of the owner of the car is a man with a prison record for sexual assault and malicious wounding. Bill and Charlie go on a hunch and track down the suspects, Troy and Gavin Cunningham. News comes of the discovery of the body of a young woman—Bill and Charlie rush to the crime scene reluctantly with Maxine and Adi in tow—they find Simone's handbag and ID. But the body is Vildana's. Maxine's nightmare has just begun, realising that her daughter has most likely suffered a similar fate. Bill breaks all the rules to make the suspects reveal where Simone is. He is obstructed by Troy's loyalty to his older brother Gavin who has absconded. Bill senses that Gavin killed Vildana, maybe Simone as well. Bill and Charlie go to extraordinary measures to obtain a confession and try to get Gavin to concede the whereabouts of Simone.

A leading heart surgeon with links to a pharmaceutical company has been executed. Bill McCoy and Charlie Coustos investigate the murder. Maxine and Louise try and save a house full of poor residents who are turfed out of their rented home to make room for Cleary's (Gary Sweet) grand vision of a clean new city. War breaks out between the residents and the police, which culminates in a shoot-up of Central Police Station, which is blamed on the residents. When one of the accused residents—Teresa—goes missing, Louise and Maxine are helped in their search for her by the infamous street person, Lizzie. Lizzie knows how the city ticks and her obsession is getting the world to listen about the evil of Cleary. Lizzie is sure that Teresa has been abducted by Cleary. Bill and Maxine are on opposite sides of the fence. However, they put their differences aside to work on the killing of the surgeon. In the course of the investigation Bill and Maxine work out that the dead surgeon was connected with a research program funded by a corporation headed by Cleary. Maxine soon discovers that Teresa took part in pharmaceutical trials run by the dead surgeon's research division, and then finds the drama revolves around an angelic thirteen year old, Cleary's only child, who is dying of heart failure. Maxine and Bill face death together as they rescue Teresa from Cleary's private health clinic. It is only then that the truth becomes apparent—the heart surgeon was shot because he refused to do a dodgy heart transplant and was about to go public.