Big changes are in store for Dr Laura Grant in the rural practice at Hawskhead. Senior partner Gerald Scott has retired. Piers Chandler, the new man chosen by Laura and her colleague Philip Maskell, is eager to make his mark. He starts to push for widespread changes, alienating some of Ravensdale's more conservative inhabitants; personal problems begin to impinge on professional conduct, and Laura and Philip must face the fact that they could have picked the wrong man for the job. Meanwhile a crisis gathers that touches the whole community. While treating 2 child leukaemia victims, Laura thinks she may have put her finger on a possible cancer cluster in her farflung North Yorkshire practice. But the moment she voices her concerns she hits a wall of denial. She enlists the help of solicitor and lover Luke Altham: Fall out or leakage from a nuclear processing plant is the prime suspect. Of course, there's been an official cover up; even Luke tells her she may not be able to fight this one. Only when she focuses on the illness itself and on treating the children does she see a way forward.