Back in the kitchen at the Campbell house, Doris is telling Rod that she could have cut her tongue out after Beryl left; all that talk about Jessica... she tried to get Beryl to stop, and change the subject, but she just went on and on. Rod assures her that no one's blaming her. Doris adds, "If only I'd known Jess was in here listening, I would have tried to do something." Rod asks where Jess is now. Doris replies that she's in her bedroom, adding that she's still very upset: she demanded to know whether everything Beryl said about her mother was true. She continues, "I didn't want to say anything, but I felt I had no choice." Rod sighs that she'd have found out sooner or later anyway. Doris murmurs that she should have been more careful. Rod, though, assures her that no one's blaming her. Doris then asks cautiously, "Are you going to see Mrs. Palmer again?" Rod, though, replies that he doubts it. Doris tells him, "I know it's none of my business, but Jess will be pleased. I had a dreadful time trying to calm her down. All those years trying to protect the girl; trying to do the right thing..." Rod tells her not to get upset. Doris cries, "Well I am. I care about her, Rod. I care about you all." Rod assures her, "We care about you, too, Doris."

In the kitchen at Beryl's, Beryl is snapping at Leigh that she has no idea what they're going to have for dinner. Leigh just stands there listening and then asks, "Why did Doris make you think Jess was out of the the house." Beryl replies that she made an honest mistake; she wouldn't do it deliberately. Leigh comments suspiciously, "It's a pretty big mistake for something as important as dropping the goods on mum. You know, it would all make sense if Doris wanted to cause strife between you and Rod." Beryl asks, "What would?" Leigh replies, "Jess finding out about her mother. I know how a schemer thinks, remember?" Beryl, though, just mutters, "If Rod's the type who thinks I would betray a confidence at the drop of a hat, I don't want to know him or his family, alright?"

Rod is watching television in the lounge room at the Campbells' when Jess wanders into the room. He turns the set off and Jess tells him that she's sorry about all the trouble she's caused. Rod hugs her and assures her that she didn't cause any trouble; the problems were there long before she came along. He goes on, "The sad thing is that Beryl didn't turn out to be the person I expected. Still, I suppose it's better to find out these things early on in the piece." They both sit down on the couch and Jess asks, "What happened with mum... is that why Barry left?" Rod nods that he's afraid so. He goes on, "See, Barry...: he wanted me to tell you. I wouldn't, but... maybe he was right; I don't know. All I could see was that there was a girl who loved her mother so much. There was enough hurt going around, Jess; I didn't want you to be a part of it. So, I told him if he couldn't keep his trap shut, he could pack his bags and leave - and he did." Jess asks, "Did you expect him to?" Rod shakes his head sadly and replies, "Not in a million years." He suddenly throws his arms around his daughter again and tells her, "I'm glad I've got you, love."

That night, at Woombai, James is standing in the lounge room, looking at a magazine. Wayne is talking on the 'phone, saying, "OK, I'll see you a bit after ten. Bye." He hangs up and James asks if they're on their way. Wayne replies that they will be, first thing tomorrow. James comments, "Big brother doesn't want his pride and joy out of sight, huh? Can't say I blame him." Changing the subject, Wayne tells him, "Barbara says you think Mary stole your opals." James retorts, "I don't think; I know." Wayne tells him, "Barbara says it was Alison." James laughs, "Then she's backing the wrong horse. Looks like she makes a habit out of that: she married Gordon!" Wayne glares at him as he goes on, "No, the girl took the opals. I caught her with them; she's looking after number one." Wayne growls that Mary's not like that. James, though, snaps that of course she is: she left the house because Gordon and Barbara are going down the gurgler and she doesn't want to go with them. Wayne tells him, "Alison's got a better motive: she doesn't want you to buy the shares, because she wants to buy them herself. I've had dealings with the woman; I know what she's like. I wouldn't trust her as far as I could spit." James laughs, "Isn't that a case of the pot calling the kettle black?" He adds, "The case is closed, boyo. Mary took the opals." He then sits down and Wayne offers him a drink. James accepts. As Wayne goes to pour it, he says, "Those opals... I didn't think anyone thought they were worth so much." James, looking thoughtful, muses, "I don't suppose there's any point in keeping it a secret any longer. I've got a mine up-north, full of opals; worth a fortune." Wayne hands him his drink and points out that, when he first turned up, everybody thought-- James interrupts and says, "Thought I was broke, huh? Yeah, that's how it's been most of my life." He then explains, "I won an old mine in a poker game. Hadn't been worked in years. I went down, poked around a bit; did it in my own time. Then I struck a vein... bingo!" Wayne mutters, "And now you got Woombai as well." James concurs smugly, "Yep, now I've got Woombai as well." He goes on, "When I first came down here, I was in two minds whether to claim it or not. I didn't need the place, or the money it was worth. Then you all started to get clever with me: you tried to take James down a peg or two. Nobody gets clever with me, sonny. I'm going to keep Woombai - and see how Gordon likes it when he's the brother left with nothing but the coat on his back."

The next morning, Spider is sitting with Beryl in Beryl's kitchen as Leigh stands at the sink, washing up. Beryl is asking Spider if he knew about Jessica. Spider replies that he certainly did, but he wasn't proud of it, so he had no trouble keeping his mouth shut. He adds, "I still can't understand, though, why Rod wouldn't believe your side of the story. It's not like him to be so pig-headed. He's a good bloke; that's why I introduced you two together." Beryl tells him that that's all ancient history now. Leigh chips in and asks, "Spider, what do you think of Doris?" Spider retorts, "She's an interfering old--" He then breaks off quickly and asks, "Why?" Leigh explains, "It's just that she told Beryl Jess was out of the house, when she was in the kitchen, listening the whole time. That's how everything blew up in the first place." Beryl sighs, "Leigh, I told you last night that I'm sure Doris didn't deliberately go out of her way to cause trouble." Spider, though, tells her, "Then your heart's in the wrong place, Beryl. No offence, but Doris is on a very cosy little set-up over at Rod's, and if she thought for one minute that you could upset the apple cart, then believe me: it wouldn't surprise me one iota if she organised the whole thing." There's suddenly a knock at the front door and Leigh goes to get it. Beryl points out to Spider that Doris loves Jess. Spider, though, retorts, "Believe me: Doris knows every dirty trick in the book." It's Adam who's at the front door, and Leigh comments that he's out and about early. Adam just says, "Spider's here, isn't he." He walks in and Leigh asks him how he knows. He replies, "That old devil is going to get himself in more trouble than Flash Gordon, one of these days!" Leigh asks him what he's done. Adam just asks, "Did you see the car outside?" Leigh tells him, "No." Beryl joins them in the lounge room and asks, "Is there something going on I should know about? Spider's just flown out of the kitchen like a man possessed." Adam tells her, "That car Charlie bought me had to be back at the dealer's. Spider does some sweet-talking - he'll drop it in, no worries; but the dealer hasn't seen the car or Spider; he's using it as his own private tourer." Beryl comments that he's probably taken off again by now. Adam asks if he said where he was going. Beryl, though, replies that he didn't give himself time!

Spider is driving along in Adam's car, heading down a quiet road.

Jess is standing in the kitchen at the Campbell house, wearing her school uniform. Doris asks her if she wasn't feeling well. Jess replies, "I wasn't exactly sick..." Doris asks her if she told her teacher she was coming home. Jess replies that she said it was OK. She then explains that she's just feeling really bad about the way she's been carrying on lately: she hasn't been very fair to her dad - she's never stopped to think how lonely he must have been all these years, and now she's ruined any chance he might have with Beryl. Doris tells her tersely, "From what I can understand, your father was glad to find out what the woman was like before things became too serious." Jess, though, says, "I don't think she's that bad. I just want to tell him that, if he wants to keep seeing her, well, that's OK by me." Doris stares at her and tells her, "Jess, dear, I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, but if there's one bit of advice I can offer, it's: don't interfere. Whatever will be will happen without you or me or anyone else lending a hand." There's suddenly a knock at the front door and Doris goes to answer it. She finds Spider standing on the step and, as he heads inside, he tells her curtly, "I want a word with you. I know what you've been up to, so there's no point in denying it." He then notices Jess standing there and he asks her what she's doing home. Doris explains, "Jess isn't feeling very well. And what gives you the right to barge into my house?" Spider retorts, "'My house'? It's not your house." He then asks Jess if she's feeling sick. Doris tells him, "The girl's upset. She needs to be left alone." Spider, though, tells her that what Jess needs is some fresh air. With that, he grabs the girl's arm and tells her that he'll take her for a trip in his new little toy. Doris warns, "You're not taking Jess anywhere." Spider, though, retorts, "You shut up, you old bag of wind. She's my granddaughter and I'll take her where I like." With that, the two of them head out, leaving Doris looking annoyed.

Gordon, Barbara and Irene have arrived at Woombai, and they all climb out of Gordon's car. James and Wayne walk over to them and James smiles nastily, "Can't keep away from the place, huh?" Gordon retorts that he just wants to make sure the handover goes smoothly. James adds, "And that I don't turn it into an amusement park?" Gordon admits, "I would like to think that Woombai stays pretty much the way it is." Wayne warns his father that he should be at home, resting. Barbara, though, insists that he's fine. Irene adds that she's there to make sure he stays that way. James smiles, "You're just in time to hear my first major decision." Barbara snaps sarcastically, "Let me guess: you're going to put in a water slide and a ferris wheel next to the stables." James, though, ignores this and announces, "I'm appointing a manager: my nephew." Wayne stares at him and asks in surprise, "Since when?" James slaps him on the back and tells him, "Just now. Just decided. Every family needs a breadwinner - don't they, Gordon?" Gordon just stares at him. James then suggests to Wayne that they need to get out there and ride the fences. He leads Wayne off, but then calls back to his visitors, "Make yourselves at home. I think you know where everything is!" Gordon sighs heavily to Barbara and Irene, "So much for family loyalty."

In Melbourne, Jess and Spider emerge from a shop, ice-creams in their hands. Spider asks his granddaughter if she's feeling brighter. Jess replies that she thinks so. Spider asks, "You only think so?" Jess admonishes, "You shouldn't have called Doris an old windbag; she's been very good to me and dad." They climb into the car as Spider points out, "She hasn't done too badly for herself, either." He then suggests that they not talk about Doris, and he asks Jess where she'd like to go. Jess tells him, "I'd like to go and see Mrs. Palmer."

A while later, Jess and Spider are standing with Beryl in Beryl's lounge room, Jess saying, "When I first overheard, I couldn't believe it." Beryl invites her visitors to sit down, and they do so, Jess going on, "Someone you think you've known all your life and then suddenly nothing seems to make sense anymore." Beryl assures her, "Whatever happened with your mother, love, doesn't mean she didn't love you. Parents aren't automatically perfect." Jess sighs that it's still a shock. She then admits, "To be totally honest, one of the main reasons I made such a fuss about finding out is because I knew it would cause trouble between you and dad." Looking surprised, Beryl asks her why she wanted to do that. Jess explains, "I'd lost my mother; I didn't want to lose dad as well." Beryl assures her, "I'd never have come between you and your dad, love." Jess tells her, "I realise that, now. I just wanted to let you know that if you and dad want to pick things up, I won't cause any more trouble for you." Beryl murmurs, "That's very kind, but I doubt if it's possible anymore." She continues, "Jess, I didn't deliberately set out to hurt you; if I'd have known you were anywhere near hearing distance, I wouldn't have uttered a word." Spider chips in, "Doris told her you were outside, bringing in the washing." Jess, looking surprised, asks Beryl if she's sure. Beryl replies that she made a point of asking her. Jess explains, "I was in the kitchen, drying dishes. Doris knew that. There wasn't even any washing on the line." Beryl stares at her as Spider points out, "I told you the dragon-lady was behind this whole carry-on. Didn't seem to bother her that poor little Jess, here, is the meat in the sandwich. I think we ought to ring Rod: that man has a few things to put right."

Sometime later, Rod, Jess, Beryl and Spider all walk up to the front door at the Campbell house and Rod puts his key in the door. Before he turns it, he says to Spider, "I hope you're right about this." Spider retorts, "I've got a pretty good case." With that, Rod opens the door and they all head inside.

A few minutes later, Doris is standing with them, saying sourly, "You all seem pretty certain of yourselves." Rod tells her that they just want to know if it's true or not. Doris hesitates and then admits, "It's true." A look of disappointment crosses Jess's face. Doris goes on, "I never had a happy home - not really. Oh, I had a place where I lived with my husband, but that was full of sadness. Then I came to live here. At last, I had a family - or at least, I could pretend I had one. We were so happy for a long time - until Beryl came along." Turning to Rod, she adds, "Well you obviously felt something for her - and I could see that pretty soon there'd be no need for a housekeeper; no need for Doris. That's why I... well, you know the rest of the story." Rod reaches into the top pocket in his overalls and takes out his chequebook. Looking worried, Jess asks him what he's doing. Rod tells his housekeeper, "Going to have to let you go, Doris." Jess pleads, "Dad..." Rod, though, ignores her and tells Doris, "Might be better if you pack up now." Jess cries, "Dad, you can't..." Rod just carries on writing the cheque. He then hands it to Doris and says curtly, "That's for two weeks. I'd like you out of the house this afternoon. I'm sorry."

At Woombai, Wayne pulls up a jeep in the middle of a clearing. James, sitting in the passenger seat, asks him what he's stopping there for. Wayne reminds him that he said he wanted a good view of the place. He then indicates a nearby fire tower and goes on that, if he climbs up there, he'll get the best view in the whole district. James muses, "Is that a fact?" He climbs out of the jeep. Wayne stays where he is, though, and James asks him what he's sitting there for. Wayne mutters, "I'm the driver, not the tourist." James, though, tells him, "Come on. You can point out all the landmarks and I'll show you all the bits of Woombai I'll probably sell off." Wayne opens his door and climbs out. He then growls at James, "You're going to ruin this property." James, though, just smiles nastily, "The fact is, sonny, it's mine to do whatever I like with." He walks off. Wayne follows him, looking annoyed.

At the Campbell house, Doris walks into the lounge room, carrying a packed bag. She looks over to a photo on a bookshelf: it's of her, Rod and Jess. She lifts it up, sadly, and stares at it.

Adam, Jess, Beryl, Rod, Spider and Leigh are all sitting around the living room table at Beryl's. Rod leads three cheers and everyone raises their glasses to Beryl! He then smiles that it was a ripper meal at very short notice! Once the celebrations have died down, Adam holds out his hand to Spider and says, "The keys?" Spider blusters, "The, er... what? Oh, er, you mean the car keys?" Adam tells him that he and Leigh have been trying to track him down all morning; he's not supposed to drive without a licence. Spider stares at him and retorts, "I've got a licence." Adam sits there, looking surprised, and Spider asks, "Don't you believe me?" He takes a piece of paper out of his pocket, hands it to Adam and challenges, "Call me a liar." Adam examines the paper and then sighs, "Spider, this licence is ten years out of date." Spider exclaims, "You're having me on!" Adam holds out his hand again and repeats, "The keys..." Spider takes them out of his pocket reluctantly and says, "I don't need them anyway. I don't need a car: I'm going for a holiday next week." Looking surprised, Beryl asks, "Where?" Spider replies, "Perth. Julie's got some holidays owing and she's taking me on a little trip." Beryl smiles, "Lucky you!" Leigh then stands up and asks Adam to come and help her dish up dessert. The two of them head out to the kitchen. At the table, Jess says to her father, "Dad... does Doris really have to go?" Looking surprised, Rod asks her if she agrees with what she did. Jess replies, "I can understand..." Rod, though, tells her that that's no argument, he's afraid. Jess, looking concerned, asks, "Where's she going to go? What's she going to do? She's got no one." Rod, though, retorts that that's not their problem. Beryl chips in, "Some people might think you're being a bit hard on her. Rod, looking surprised, asks, "Do you?" Beryl nods her head. Jess pleads, "Let her stay, dad. Please? I'm going to miss her terribly if she goes."

Doris is talking on the 'phone at the Campbell house, saying, "The name is Hudson. One passenger. Ready now." She then hangs up. Rod suddenly walks in and she tells him that she's just called a taxi; it'll be there shortly. Rod asks her where she's thinking of going, and she replies, "The Railway Hotel - until I find somewhere more permanent." Rod hesitates and then, looking uncomfortable, tells her, "I don't really know how to say this, Doris. Look, um, er, Jess doesn't really want you to go. Even Beryl thinks I was a bit hard on you. What do you say? Would you like to stay?" Doris mutters that she'd feel very awkward. Rod tells her that he knows that, but things will blow over eventually. Doris asks, "What will happen if you and Beryl do get married?" Rod, though, asks who says they're going to get married. He adds that he and Beryl are friends again... he doesn't know what's going to happen as far as Beryl's concerned, but he'd like her to stay. Doris smiles awkwardly, "I'd like that. Thankyou."

Wayne is climbing the ladder of the fire tower at Woombai, panting heavily. James is already standing at the top, and he taunts, "You're out of condition. Been living in the lap of luxury too long. Picking up your old man's bad habits. Got to hand it to you, though - I thought you've have broken before now." Wayne reaches the top and snaps, "What are you talking about?" James tells him, "I'm talking about you - how you take every insult I throw at you." Wayne mutters, "I don't know what you're on about." James, putting a camera to his eyes and staring out into the distance, retorts, "Bull. You think if you stay in my good books, you'll be able to get to me. Or at me. You're about as obvious as a wart on the end of your nose. Pity all your crawling isn't going to work: I'm not going to soften on Woombai." Wayne glares at him and growls, "You owe my father that much." James, though, retorts, "I don't like him, I'll tell you that." Wayne snarls, "It wasn't his fault granddad left him everything." James snaps, "If I'd had half the opportunities your old man had had, my life would be a whole lot different. Everything he ever wanted, he got. Everything I ever wanted I had to bust my gut for. That's OK - I can live with that. And then a new will comes along, leaving it all to James. And your money-hungry family spend the rest of their time trying to cheat me out of it." Looking annoyed, he heads back to the ladder and sits down on the platform next to it, ready to swing his feet onto the top rung. Wayne growls, "Wait a minute, I haven't finished yet." James retorts, "I have." Wayne suddenly leans towards him, goes to grab his camera and snaps, "Listen, just put that ruddy camera down and listen to what I've got to say." As he grabs the camera, James struggles to keep hold of it. The camera falls out of his hand and drops several metres to the ground below. The struggle also causes James to swing off the edge of the platform and he finds himself dangling in thin air, clinging desperately with his hands to the poles that form the ladder. He cries, "Wayne... Wayne..." Wayne suddenly looking very smug, places his left foot close to James's left and starts knocking it against that hand. James snaps fearfully, "What are you doing?" Wayne tells him calmly, "I've just realised: Dad's next of kin - isn't he..." James glares at him and yells, "Mongrel." Wayne just smiles back at him, nastily...