Nothing is what it seems when a woman rushes into the Mt. Thomas police station claiming a man has kidnapped her children. As a custody battle unfolds between the feuding parents, Ben's work eerily starts to mirror his private life. Shattered by the news that his ex-wife plans on taking his kids to Perth, he is determined to go to any lengths to keep them in Victoria.

The custody battle gets out of hand when the father of the two children reappears in court with a time bomb strapped to his body and threatens to blow himself and everyone else in the courtroom. He abducts Ben and flees into the bush. Will the Heelers find them in time and can they set the children free from their irrational father?

A famous crime-fiction writer is asking a lot of questions about the death of a baby 25 years ago. When he discovers the body of a missing child, Tess wonders if he is capable of committing the very acts of violence he writes about. Tom confronts the author, who reveals his intimate connection to the long-closed case of the baby's death. How can Tess and Tom separate fact from fiction?

Tess and Tom must choose a new policeman for nearby Widgeree. Tom thinks old fashion policing is the way to go and suggests Senior Constable Ian ""Gossie"" Goss but Tess disagrees. She picks a different candidate—a modern by-the-book policeman Simon Barclay. Inspector Falcon-Price backs up Tess, driving a wedge between Tom and Tess, and Senior Constable Barclay gets the job. But Tom is soon proven right as Barclay gets the locals offside from day one.

When a brash pair of city detectives arrive in Mount Thomas, PJ is faced with the opportunity to move back to homicide in the big smoke and have an affair. But a limbless corpse leads to another dilemma—has a spurned lover gone mad with a chain saw or could it be a brilliant set-up by a criminal mind?

Sgt Tess Gallagher takes on more than her job demands when she tries to help the three children of a local woman whom she believes are being abused by the latest de facto. Even when Sen Sgt Tom Croydon tells her there are no grounds for suspecting abuse, a stubborn Tess refuses to drop it. Something from her past, perhaps personal experience, tells her to persevere. When she discovers the three children; Hayley, 10, Darien, 8, and Frasier, six, have broken into her car and slept there overnight, Tess knows her instincts were right. But she is at a loss with what to do with them. She takes the kids back inside her house, feeds them breakfast and plans to take them to DHS to be placed in a safe house. But the kids get wind of her plans and flee in fear to the nearby mines. Things go from bad to worse as Tess has to confess to Tom what has occurred—the children have disappeared while they were in her careÅ  and their mother Tina doesn¹t know they are missing. At the old mines, Tess a

PJ's mother comes to stay and trouble follows. Forcing him to go to a ""get rich quick"" seminar. A car smashes into the venue with the driver claiming the financial adviser is a con man who preys on the elderly. Can PJ keep his professional distance, while allowing his mother to play a vital role in solving a case?

Jo is under pressure when her parents arrive in Mt Thomas with one aim—to find their ""princess"" another career. Meanwhile Jo and Jack are on the case when a valuable vat of red wine is mysteriously unplugged and drained into a creek. Things get worse when Mr Parrish takes on one of the suspects and is consequently charged with assault. Emotions run high between Jo and Tess as Jo's loyalty to family clashes with professional duty.

PJ's long held plans for a raid on an illegal tobacco dealer is blown when a bushwalker goes missing. An emergency search must take precedence. Meanwhile, the tobacco dealer has got wind of the cancelled raid, and is determined to make someone pay. Jack and Tess follow a hunch on the whereabouts of the illegal tobacco and find themselves in a high-risk situation, leading Tess to admit to her true feelings for Jack—an action she later regrets.

A rough-looking man loitering around the local high school turns out to be a convicted cop killer—Mick Boyce—who's just finished doing time. But he just isn't the perving type. So what is he up to? And why is he in Mount Thomas? The situation becomes volatile when Jack decides to make him feel unwelcome. Tess tires of Jack's apologies and begins to doubt him as an objective member of the team. Meanwhile Ben and Jo are looking into several car thefts which appear to be youths joy riding. The investigation leads them to the home of Heath Flemming, a wild and confused teenager who believes his parents are dead and lives with his grandmother. But when the grandmother meets up with Mick Boyce in the Mt Thomas police station, the truth about Heath's lineage is revealed. In a heated exchange with Heath, Jack tells the boy the truth about his father—with tragic results. Tess witnesses a side of Jack she'd rather not have to deal with, and runs out of patience with his headstrong behaviour.

Tom's nostalgic support for Mt Thomas's only cinema, ""The Bughouse"", cannot stop it being demolished, but an unsolved mystery from the past can—at least temporarily. Jo takes on the case, delving back over thirty years, and discovers that old style heroes and villains are alive and well in Mt Thomas

Notorious armed robber Arnie Briggs is a local boy and, having just escaped from prison, the last place the Heelers expect him to be is back on his old turf. But Jack suspects otherwise, going maverick in his search for Briggs, and in the process drags Tess into a highly volatile situation.

When Tom attends a scene of vandalism at a Vietnam War Memorial garden, he discovers the culprit is an escaped prize-winning bantam pullet called Hannah. When the hen is later found with a broken neck, her frantic owner suspects the neighbour, who is a rival poultry breeder. With several other likely suspects to choose from, Jo seizes the opportunity to escape pressing paperwork, and takes up the case with all the enthusiasm of a comical amateur sleuth. But the situation intensifies when a young homeless boy is rushed to hospital suffering from a deadly virus directly linked to free roaming birds. With the population of Mt Thomas under threat, the disposal of all local chickens is urgent

Still reeling from being separated from his family, Ben is on a downhill spiral—hell bent on living for the moment. In the process he becomes entangled with a woman on a similar path—and inadvertently makes a discovery that leads directly to a murder suspect with tragic results

A plane crashes into a farmhouse, killing three people. Ben takes the a case too personally and oversteps the mark in his investigation efforts, causing havoc for the victims' families in the process, and giving Tom more cause to doubt Ben's attitude to the job.

Constables Jo Parrish and Jack Lawson answer a call to attend a gang of youths drinking in a park. When the duo arrives, they find two girls involved in an altercation. Jo decides it would be best to let the kids go, but when one of the girls is reported missing the next day, Jo's leniency is called into question.

PJ plays cupid in helping Jack form a bond with Tess. Jack is determined something is on the nose when Tess accidentally hits a young man, knocking him unconscious. While Tess puts herself up for scrutiny by the ESD, Jack sets about proving her innocence, and discovers the real blame might lie with the victim's connections to illegal bare knuckle boxing.

Brad Eckhardt killed a high school student with a bad batch of ecstasy. Having served his time, Brad is back in town to nurse his sick mother.

Urged on in his vengeful mission by the death of a schoolgirl from a bad dose of ecstacy, Jack becomes desperate to prove Brad is guilty. Tess can only watch in horror as he oversteps the line. Jack finally wears down a student found dealing, and gets the statement he's been waiting for—one that puts the blame firmly on Brad. But his maverick actions lead Jack to a decision that will change his life forever - he kills Brad and is arrested for murder, to Tess' dismay

Tess' preoccupation with Jack's murder charge has to take a back seat when a young boy goes missing. His parents recently won the lottery and kidnapping is suspected. PJ and Tess question the boy's uncle and the uncle's mate to no avail. PJ becomes suspicious when a video tape is delivered with a recording of the boy reciting the ransom demand. The amount demanded is exactly half of what was won by the boy's parents. PJ believes the boy knows his kidnappers. On the trail of the missing boy, Tess is held captive in an airless trucking container. Will the Heelers find Tess in time?

PJ and Jo stumble upon a young naked man wandering the highway. Through their investigations they discover he is a Kosovo refugee desperately trying to avoid deportation. He is accused of fleeing his country wanted for black marketeering and murder. PJ and Jo are divided over how to handle the issue and PJ finds him self at odds with public sentiment as he investigates the young man. PJ's suspicions are challenged as he learns more about the escaped refugee's life. He faces a tough choice: does he follow the letter of the law or the voice in his heart?

Tess narrowly escapes being knocked down by a speeding car the same day the new Constable, Evan ""Jonesy"" Jones, arrives in town. Jonesy is rebellious and charismatic and under Tess' skin from the moment he arrives. They couldn't be more different, but together they investigate a young drag racing gang. Tess is determined to put a stop to it before someone gets hurt. Tess and Jonesy discover a link between members of the gang and a separate case involving stolen car engines. Jonesy is concerned when a lead suspect threatens to get revenge on Tess, but Tess is dismissive. Jonesy fights to rescue Tess when her life is endangered. Will he get there in time and will Tess be able to accept his help?

Jonesy's preconceptions about the sanctity of parenthood are challenged when he befriends a young mother in trouble. When Jonesy and Tess discover an abandoned new born baby their investigations lead to a local schoolgirl who is in denial and swears there is no baby. Jonesy earns her trust and she confides in him that she was raped. When questioning reveals one suspect's violent tendencies, Jonesy convinces the young girl to make a statement and also urges her to reconsider giving up the baby.

What do an alleged Peeping Tom, a trip wire in the National Park, a break and enter and a bashed truck driver have in common? When Inspector Falcon-Price joins the team for the day in a publicity stunt, he sets out partnering Jo for the day. After a series of incidents, he goes missing and it is Jo's responsibility to lead the others into combat...

Tom is caught between a rock and a hard place when two old friends and colleague are suspected of stealing a large marijuana crop. One is a rule breaker, the other has always played by the book. Tom disobeys orders when he is told to step back from the case. Determined to uncover the truth, Tom embarks on an investigation of his own. The truth, discovered, is not easy to take. Clearing one friend will ruin the other. Can Tom prove what he knows? and is he prepared to?