At Dural, John organises a drink for Di, and tells her that it's nice having the place to themselves. Di, though, says she has to push off soon, adding that it's a nuisance not having her car. She then tells John about Beryl having Hal Mason and his daughter, Lindy, over for a meal at the boarding house, which causes John to go into a sulk, remarking that it'll be a nice cosy meal. Di says, though, that she wouldn't bet on it, because when she was seeing Mason, Lindy gave her the cold shoulder, so if Beryl gets the same treatment, it might not be too cosy...

At the boarding house, Beryl asks Lindy about her Tec course, but Lindy says there's no point in talking about it because her father wouldn't be interested in listening. Hal Mason gets up from the table and goes into the kitchen. Lindy immediately apologises to Beryl, explaining that Hal would be bored if he had to hear it all again. However, she proceeds to tell Beryl all about her arts and pottery studies, and she reveals that pottery is a great way of letting off steam. Beryl says she feels the same about baking a cake! At this point, Hal Mason comes back in with drinks, and the conversation comes to an abrupt end.

Kevin gets home early from working at the newspaper office, explaining to Lynn that he has an essay due in tomorrow. Lynn tells her husband that Davey had a visitor today. Kevin asks who it was, but, sensing trouble, David interrupts, asking his son if he's eaten. Kevin says he has, so David leaves him to it. Kevin asks Lynn about the present, and Lynn tells him it was from Patricia Hamilton. Kevin snaps, "Has she been here?" but Lynn tells him to leave it, pointing out that David has enough on his mind without there being any more trouble. In the lounge, David is making a 'phone call.

John tells Di that he's sorry he's not the life of the party. Di says she should have kept her mouth shut. The 'phone rings, and John answers it. The caller is David, who says he rang to find out how Beryl is getting on. John tells him that she's looking well. David asks John if he sees Beryl much, but John replies that they're both pretty busy now, as they both have jobs. David says he'd hate to think Beryl wasn't getting out and meeting people, but John points out that she's never likely to have a dull moment living with Fiona. David asks John if he'd tell him if Beryl was out of her depth. John asks his father if something is bugging him, but David says there isn't. He tells John that, if he sees Beryl, he's not to say anything about this call, as he wouldn't want her to think he was checking up on her. John hangs up and tells Di that he really blew it, as David could tell he was covering. Di tells John that he did his best.

Beryl tells Lindy that she's very lucky to be studying in the US. She then gets up and starts to clear the table, taking some plates into the kitchen. Lindy takes the opportunity to tell her father that Beryl is nice. She then goes to join Beryl in the kitchen, where she tells her that she has an idea: why doesn't Beryl have some pottery lessons? Beryl thinks about it, and agrees that it sounds fun. Lindy suddenly notices a piece of her pottery on the kitchen table - that which Hal Mason bought for Beryl at Lindy's exhibition - and storms back into the living room, where she accuses her father of treating her like a little kid. Mason says he was just trying to take an interest, but Lindy is upset because she thought some anonymous buyer had purchased the piece, when it was really just her own father. She tells him that she'd rather have spent five minutes talking to him about her work, but it would be too much to ask. Telling Beryl that she'll give her a call, Lindy storms out of the boarding house. Beryl apologises to Mason for not hiding the pottery, and Mason regretfully says he should have known it was too good to last.

The next morning, at Ramberg, Mason is in a foul mood, and orders Wayne to rewrite his last report, telling him that the current version is very shoddy. Wayne says he didn't have time to do it properly, but Mason snaps that Wayne hasn't come up with any of the things he expected of him as his assistant. Wayne says he is making progress with Fiona, but this doesn't stop Mason putting him on a two week trial. He also tells Wayne not to waste his time until he gets results. As Wayne leaves the office, Lindy comes in, and says she's there to apologise. She tells her father that she guesses he was trying to do the right thing. Mason says, though, that it was partly his fault. He asks his daughter if she's going to apologise to Beryl as well, and Lindy tells him that it's taken care of.

Beryl is sweeping the floor of Fiona's room when she notices a piece of paper sticking out under the front door. She picks it up, and Fiona asks what it is. The piece of paper contains two painted pictures, and Beryl immediately realises it's from Lindy. Fiona asks what the pictures mean, and Beryl tells her that it's Lindy's way of apologising. She tells Fiona that she wants to help Mason and Lindy get back together before Lindy's trip. Fiona tells Beryl that she'll be going on a trip of her own soon, but Beryl ignores this, and returns to cleaning the floor.

Kevin is still doing his essay at 10:30am, and Lynn has a go at him about being late for school, pointing out that he'll be in trouble. Kevin makes it clear, though, that he doesn't really care. Lynn shows him the clothes Patricia gave them, which she has washed. Kevin is annoyed, though, because they can't be sent back now. He tells his wife that Patricia might have bought her off, but not him. Lynn says it's a present, not a bribe, but Kevin just replies, "See? You're gullible." He immediately apologises for this remark, but tells Lynn that she doesn't know what Patricia is like. Lynn, though, says Patricia has always been good to her. Kevin says Patricia is just hanging round Davey to cause trouble, but Lynn says that she'll be nice to Patricia as long as Patricia is nice to her.

A while later, Susan joins David in the Palmer house kitchen for some tea. David says he hopes she doesn't mind being dragged over, but Susan says she's glad to get out of the house. David remarks that Susan and Angela never did hit it off, but Susan tells him that it isn't the old animosity this time - she dislikes Angela now for doing the dirty on Rob. David tells Susan that he wants to talk to her about Beryl, and the bloke she's seeing, explaining that he rang John and could tell he was covering. He asks Susan to warn the others that, if they ring Beryl, they should keep their big mouth shut, otherwise they might just push Beryl further towards this man. Susan agrees to try and persuade them. She suggests to her father that he should go to Sydney to try and sort things out, but David says he can't run after her - Beryl has made her mind up, and he can't pressure her.

Beryl and John bump into each other at Ramberg, and Beryl explains to John that she's having lunch with Hal Mason. John says it was no wonder David was on the 'phone. Beryl asks what he said, but John just tells her that David had worked it out for himself. Beryl tells John that she doesn't want to argue - not on top of everything else.

Mason takes Beryl into the Ramberg canteen, where he tells her that Lindy has taken a shine to her. He says last night was a bit of a disaster, but it's all sorted out this morning. Beryl asks Mason why he and Lindy haven't been close before, and Mason explains that he was always busy with work when she was young, and he never found the time to spend with her. He tells Beryl that, if you ignore your children when you're young, you can't expect them to want to have too much contact in later years. Beryl asks if things are changing, and Mason says he's keeping his fingers crossed. He tells Beryl that she could help, as she seems to have the magic touch. Beryl says she learned the hard way with her family.

Kevin gets in from school, and finds David in the lounge. David tells his son that Lynn is next door. Kevin says he's come home to say sorry, but then says he supposes he should have rung first, just in case 'darling Patricia' was there. David goes to wallop his son, but Kevin asks what happened to the big rave about him not being bossed around any more. David tells him that Patricia is in Melbourne because of Angela and her property. He points out that Kevin accused him of having a dirty mind over him and Lynn, but, "I'll tell you my boy - you're the one with the dirty mind."

Wayne calls at Fiona's with some guff for the next board meeting. He thanks her for inviting him to the opening of Woombai, and he then invites her to join him for lunch. Fiona says, though, that she knows when she's being buttered up. Wayne tells her she's wrong. He starts to head off, and Fiona warns him not to cry on Jill's shoulder. Wayne goes, and Lindy arrives, asking Fiona if Beryl is in. Fiona says she's out, but she'll be back soon. Lindy says she has a block of clay in the car. A while later, Lindy and Beryl have the block of clay on Fiona's kitchen table, and they proceed to start making an ashtray. Beryl remarks that it's a pity Hal isn't there, but Lindy says he was always too busy, and he was never interested in the things she liked. Beryl says all men are the same. She recalls that when the kids were tots, David was on the road a lot, and Kevin was having trouble learning to tie his shoe laces. One Sunday morning, they spent the entire morning going over it until David was almost tearing his hair out! He then had to set off on a long haul, not knowing that Kevin was going off by himself to practice and practice. When he eventually managed to tie his laces with a bit of a wobbly bow, he was was disappointed that David wasn't there to see it. When David got back, he was tired - "...and you can guess the rest." She tells Lindy that it wasn't because David didn't care or love Kevin - just that he couldn't be around all the time, and when he was, he had trouble showing love for his kids.

Lynn thanks David for looking after Davey while she goes to meet Kevin in the library. She goes out, and David goes and fusses over the baby, who starts crying.

Beryl finishes her ashtray and says she hopes noone will laugh at it. Lindy thanks her for talking about her family, and remarks that going through a divorce must have been terrible. Beryl tells her that she's not divorced, and Lindy apologises for putting her foot in it. She says, though, that she almost wishes Beryl was divorced, as her father seems to be happy with her. Beryl points out that she's only known him for a couple of weeks, but Lindy says you never know. She goes, leaving Beryl sitting at the table looking very thoughtful...