Caroline joins Samantha - who's sitting reading a magazine - in the lounge room at the Morrell town house and asks her if she doesn't have to go to work. Samantha explains that there's no surgery until this afternoon. Caroline sits down and comments that whatever Samantha is reading must be fascinating. Samantha retorts, "It is. It's an article on water-skiing." She adds sarcastically, "Don't worry: I'm not going to take it up." Caroline sighs, "You think I'm being neurotic, don't you?" Samantha, though, retorts, "No - just a bit overprotective." With that, she gets up and walks off to her room. The 'phone suddenly starts ringing and Caroline answers it. Alison comes on and tells her that Wayne asked her to let Caroline know about the meeting this morning; they need a decision on that investment plan he's pushing. Caroline murmurs, "I really should get some things sorted out with Samantha first." Alison muses, "Business does seem to get in the way, doesn't it?" Caroline asks what time the meeting is. Alison tells her, "Eleven. At the Hamiltons'." Caroline says reluctantly that she'll come over now. They hang up. At Charlie's, Alison turns to Trent and tells him, "It's all fixed." Trent says, "I'll get going, then." Alison warns him, "Be careful - I don't want any slip-ups." Trent, though, assures her, "Don't worry - it's as good as done..."

Gordon is poring over a set of papers in the lounge room at Dural. Wayne wanders in and Gordon tells him that it looks good. Wayne replies, "It is. I'll have to fight tooth-and-nail to get it through, though - Alison's already told me she's voting against it." Gordon murmurs, "I wouldn't worry about it. Caroline's bound to back you." Wayne, however, mutters, "I'm not counting on her support, either - not when I know Alison's working overtime to weasel into her good books." Gordon comments, "I don't know why Alison would vote no. It's a rock solid investment." Wayne explains, "She thinks it'll take too long to show any profit." He pauses before continuing, "She seems to have a lot of faith in you, though. If she knows you're in favour, she might agree to it." Gordon reminds his son, "I don't know that I should interfere. Strictly speaking, I don't have a vote anymore." Wayne points out that he'd only have to mention that he thought it was a good idea. Gordon muses, "I don't suppose it would do any harm to offer an opinion. As I said, it's a very sound investment." Wayne smiles, "Thanks, dad."

Trent is at the Morrell town house. Samantha is saying to him, "Of course I want to, but I can't. I'm sorry." She adds, "Besides, mum's a bit jumpy at the moment - she'd go grey overnight if she knew I'd gone hang-gliding!" Trent insists, "There's no risk involved. Not when you're with me." Samantha, though, insists, "No, I'd better not." Trent mutters, "I guess that's it, then." Samantha suggests, "Another time, maybe?" Trent, however, snaps sourly, "No, forget it. We can't make plans mummy wouldn't approve of." He goes to walk out, but Samantha, looking guilty, quickly says, "Trent... wait. I'll get my keys." She turns away and doesn't notice the nasty smile that appears on Trent's face...

A while later, Trent is driving himself and Samantha along in his car. Samantha looks around in surprise and asks, "Is this it? It doesn't seem like a very good place to go hang-gliding." Trent replies, "It's not - but it's an ideal spot for what I've got in mind." He pulls the car to a halt and teases, "Stop playing 'little Miss Innocence' now, Samantha. You were giving me the big come-on last night at Charlie's. I'm not about to turn down the offer." Samantha snaps indignantly, "I wasn't." Trent, though, insists, "If someone makes a promise, I expect them to keep it..." With that, he lunges at her and starts kissing her. He then grabs at her blouse and rips open the top couple of buttons. Looking terrified, Samantha struggles with him and eventually manages to push him away and slap his face. Trent then leans across, opens the passenger door and pushes her out of the car, snapping, "Pleasant walk home, baby." With that, he drives off, leaving Samantha sprawled in the dust track, looking shocked and upset.

Wayne, Gordon, Alison and Caroline are sitting around the living room table at Dural. Caroline comments, "Certainly sounds tempting. Almost too good to be true." Wayne tells her that they have to act quickly so they don't miss out. Caroline asks Gordon what he thinks. Gordon tells her, "Property investment is usually a good move, and Wayne seems to have researched it thoroughly. I'd be in favour." Wayne asks Alison, "What about you? Still against the idea?" Alison retorts, "I've never been against it, as such, but like Caroline, I did think it was all a little too good to be true - so I took the liberty of making a few small enquiries of my own. It does seem that there are one or two small matters that Wayne seems to have overlooked." Wayne asks in surprise, "Such as?" Alison replies, "The house in the property's an old mansion. It's been there for donkey's years; apparently, it was converted into flats in the late-forties. The accommodation isn't marvellous, but the rent's cheap and most of the tenants are pensioners who can't afford anything better." Wayne growls, "We'll find them somewhere else to live. That's no big deal." Alison, however, asks, "At that price?" She then goes on, "What about May Walters, the old lady in flat two? Have you checked the details of her lease?" Wayne mutters, "What about it?" Alison tells him, "She's a protected tenant - and I have it on good authority that she has no desire to move, even if we can find something better for her." Wayne snaps, "We'll take her to court, if necessary. We'd win the case." Alison agrees calmly, "Maybe - but I can just see the headlines: 'Big company turns little old lady out of home'." Gordon, looking taken aback, comments to Wayne, "I thought you said you looked into it thoroughly? I don't like the idea of throwing people out of their homes." Wayne cries, "We're a business, not a benevolent society." Gordon retorts, "I've never considered the two to be mutually exclusive. I'm sorry: I have to change my opinion." Wayne looks at Caroline, who says, "So will I." Wayne snarls, "That's typical. You're a real jellyfish at heart, aren't you?" Alison sits there, smirking. Wayne glares at her.

A while later, Caroline and Alison arrive back at Charlie's and Caroline thanks Alison for winding things up quickly. They head into the lounge room and Alison offers Caroline a scotch. She accepts, saying, "I need something to bolster my strength. Goodness knows what sort of mood Samantha's going to be in when I get home." Alison sighs, "Sad, isn't it, women like us? We're always so busy with our own affairs, we rarely have time to develop personal relationships." Caroline insists, "I made that mistake with Amanda. I won't with Samantha." Alison comments, "It's a pity you're so involved with the company. It doesn't give you much time to spend with her." Caroline, though, declares, "In future, I'm going to make time." The front door suddenly bangs, and Alison tells Caroline that it'll be Trent. She heads out to the hallway to find that it is Trent standing there. He tells her, "Worked like a charm." Alison, though, mouths to him that Caroline is there, and she tells him quietly to come on in. They head into the lounge room and Caroline immediately says to him cautiously that he's not going to try and talk Samantha into any parachuting or hang-gliding, is he? Trent assures her, "Of course not." Alison tells Trent that Caroline has had a rather unsettling morning. She then suggests, "Why don't you take her to lunch? I'd take her myself, but I do have another appointment." Caroline says quickly that she should be getting back to Samantha. Alison, though, suggests that it wouldn't do any harm giving her a bit longer to think about things. Caroline asks Trent if he's sure he's got nothing better to do. Trent assures her, "Not a thing." With that, the two of them head out, leaving Alison looking pleased with herself...

Andy is sitting with Kelly in Irene's flat at the boarding house smiling happily as he reads Kelly a letter and tells her that he's in: six weeks cruising around the Pacific and getting paid for it! Kelly says flatly, "That's wonderful, Andy..." Andy tells her that her letter is probably in the mail somewhere. Kelly, though, sighs, "They don't want me." Andy says he'll 'phone them and find out. Kelly, though, mutters that there's no point hassling them. Andy declares, "Alright: if they don't want you, I'm not going, either." Kelly tells him not to be silly - and anyway, she applied for another job the other day, just in case, and she can take it now. Andy asks in surprise, "Whereabouts?" Kelly says hesitantly, "Just a small restaurant - playing guitar and singing; it's the sort of thing I've always wanted to do." Andy comments downheartedly, "I suppose there's no point knocking back the cruise job, then, is there?" Kelly murmurs, "No." With that, Andy stands up to head out, saying he's going to write a thankyou letter. As he goes to the door, he asks, "Are you sure, Kel?" Kelly insists, "Yes, of course." He goes, leaving Kelly looking upset.

Fiona is sitting up in her hospital bed, looking at a scrapbook, when Janice walks in with a tray of food and smiles, "Hello, Aunt Fiona. How are you feeling today?" Fiona assures her, "Much better." She adds, "Thanks very much for the present - Irene brought it up from reception. Did you work it all out yourself?" Janice nods, "Yep - it's a collection of my favourite passages from the Bible and Shakespeare." Fiona murmurs in a bemused tone, "It's a lovely thought..." Janice then indicates the tray of lunch things and says the nurse asked her to bring it in. Fiona says she thinks she'll give it a miss. Janice, though, tells her, "Nonsense. It's only soup. Dad warned me you could be stubborn, but I'm not going to see you fade away for wont of proper nourishment." Fiona muses, "He painted me pretty black, didn't he?" Janice replies, "He's always been very concerned about the sort of life you've led." Fiona suggests, "Why don't you take the trouble to find out for yourself what sort of life I lead?" Janice asks in surprise, "How?" Fiona explains, "When I get out of here, why don't you come and stay with me for a while? Meet my friends. See how I 'conduct myself' - and then make up your own mind whether I need to 'reform' or not?" She goes on, "You know, I think we could grow to like each other, Janice, but if you're not prepared to give me a chance, then I'm not prepared to give you one, either. Now, what's it to be?"

A few moments later, Fiona is saying, "I suppose that would be asking the impossible. George would never allow it." Janice snaps, "I don't know why you think my father rules my life, but it's totally false." Fiona retorts, "He tried to keep me in a straightjacket all those years; I can imagine he'd be twice as protective of his own daughter." Janice sighs, "I can't possibly come and stay with you. You're not my only charity case, as it happens, and I am training to be a teacher." Fiona snaps, "It's a wonder to me that you waste your precious time on me at all. Surely you must realise by now that I'm a hopeless case?" Janice, though, 'assures' her, " I've never yet come across someone I couldn't help to some degree. Don't worry: when you get out of hospital, I'll be your most frequent visitor." Fiona comments, "I hope you'll keep an open mind." Janice insists, "My mind's always open." At that moment, Irene wanders into the room and asks Fiona if there's anything she needs at home. Fiona just asks her to give Andy and Kelly her love. Irene then tells Janice, "You'd better keep an eye on her, you know? She can be a real handful!" Janice replies seriously, "So I've discovered. We must have a discussion sometime about Aunt Fiona's recovery programme." Fiona, looking aghast, protests, "I'm sure the doctor knows best about that." Janice, though, tells her, "I'm sure I can be of some help. The sooner you're in good health again, the better. You're the one who wanted a fair go. You're not going to get the chance to say I persuaded you to change your ways when you were too sick to resist." Irene grins at Fiona, "So put that in your pipe and smoke it!" Fiona sits there, looking indignant!

Sometime later, Irene arrives back at the boarding house and bumps into Andy, who's carrying a pile of washing. He explains that he's having a spring clean before he leaves. Irene asks him where he's going. Andy smiles, "You know that cruise job Kelly and I applied for..." Irene grins, "That's wonderful. Congratulations!" Kelly suddenly emerges from Irene's flat and asks how Fiona is. Irene replies that she's much better. She adds, "You'd better go in and tell her the good news - she'll be thrilled for both of you." There's silence until Kelly eventually says, "I didn't get the job. Only Andy." Irene murmurs, "I'm sorry, love." Andy adds that Kelly has got something else lined up. With that, he heads off to the laundromat. Kelly offers Irene a cup of tea and she accepts. They head into the flat and Irene asks Kelly what the new job is. Kelly, though, admits, "There's no other job. I just had to say something. He was going to turn it down; I didn't want him to do that because of me. You won't tell him, will you?" Irene assures her, "He won't hear it from me, but you can't keep up the lie for ever." Kelly says sadly, "Only until he's on the ship - then I can cry all I like..."

Wayne is being shown around the grounds of the mansion he proposed that the company buy. A real estate agent with him is saying, "It's a potential goldmine, Mr. Hamilton. Once they rip down the old building and put up the new offices, it'll be worth a fortune." Wayne muses, "Mmm. The old woman in number two could prove to be a bit difficult: I understand she's a protected tenant." The agent laughs, "May Walters is no problem. She may kick up a bit of a stink when she finds out she's being evicted, but legally, she can't do much." Wayne mutters, "That's what I thought - but all the same..." The agent tells him, "The owner's dropped $10,000 off the price. Your company would be missing out on a real bargain." Wayne looks at the building again and then says, "Alright. Deal. But it's me buying it now, and not the company." The agent suggests that they go back to the office and sign the papers. They start walking. As they do so, Wayne adds, "One small thing: I want this kept under wraps for the time being - about me being the buyer, that is. I'll tell the other company directors when the time is right. Should come as quite a surprise..."

Samantha arrives back at the Morrell town house, crying in distress, "Mum...? Mum...? Mum, are you home?" There's no answer, though, and Samantha collapses onto the couch, tears streaming down her face.

Trent is packing his suitcase into the boot of a car parked outside Charlie's. Alison is with him and he's telling her, "Wouldn't be surprised if Caroline doesn't make it home at all tonight: when I left her, she was full as a boot." Alison insists that she'll find a way home eventually; she wouldn't leave Samantha on her own all night. Trent grins, "She wouldn't want to: the girl's a nervous wreck." Alison checks in concern, "You didn't go any further than I said?" Trent assures her, "No, don't worry, I didn't actually rape her; I'm not going to risk a jail sentence. I just had to make it look good, that's all." Alison comments, "She should be home by now. I'd better go and make sure she's alright." She goes to walk off, but Trent calls after her to ask if she hasn't forgotten something. Alison reaches into her handbag, and as she takes out a cheque, she asks, "How am I going to explain your sudden departure to Charlie?" Trent retorts, "I don't care. That's your problem." They suddenly notice Wayne watching them from his car, which is heading up the driveway towards Dural. Trent quickly asks Alison in concern, "You think he saw anything?" Alison replies, "Possibly." Trent mutters, "I hope he doesn't twig." Alison grins, "Relax. Wayne wasn't blessed with the gift of intuition. By the time he puts two and two together - if he ever does - it'll be too late: Caroline will have given me everything I want..."

A while later, Alison is at the Morrell town house, and Samantha invites her in. She sniffs as she sits back down on the couch. Alison asks her if she's alright. Samantha sobs, "I'll be alright when mum gets back." Alison asks, "What's happened?" Samantha hesitates and then cries, "Trent Harris: he tried to rape me. It's awful... I've never been so frightened..." Alison goes and puts her arm round her, looking genuinely concerned.

Barbara is refilling the decanter of scotch at the bar at Dural. Wayne is sitting on the couch and she asks him curtly, "Where did you get to this afternoon?" Wayne retorts, "Just out for a drive. I needed to cool off." Gordon comes into the room and Barbara reminds him to ring Caroline about lunch tomorrow for the school Directors. Gordon murmurs, "I just have. She's not home." Barbara looks at the expression on his face and asks what's wrong. Gordon explains, "I've just been talking to Samantha: she had a bad experience with Trent whatsisname - the bloke who was teaching Charlie to ride her bike." Wayne asks, "What sort of bad experience?" Gordon replies, "He took her for a drive on some pretext or other, and drove into the bush and tried to attack her." Barbara gasps, "Is she alright?" Gordon nods, "She seems to be. She managed to get away, fortunately." Barbara suggests that she'd better get over to her. Gordon, though, tells her, "There's no need: Alison's there." Wayne asks suspiciously, "How did she find out?" Gordon replies, "She didn't; she called in to see Caroline. Anyway, she's there and Caroline should be home soon..." - he turns to Barbara and concludes - "...so there's no need for you to go." Wayne sits there, looking thoughtful.

It's dark and Caroline is back at the Morrell town house, asking in shock, "When did it happen?" Samantha is sitting on the couch, wearing her dressing gown, as Alison replies, "When we were at the Hamiltons' this morning. He must have heard me talking to you on the 'phone and knew you'd be out. Then he turned up here and talked Samantha into going hang-gliding." Caroline hugs her daughter and cries, "Oh, darling." She asks her why she didn't call the police. Samantha murmurs, "I just want to forget about it." Caroline growls, "I should have stayed at home. I should never have gone to that stupid meeting." Samantha sobs, "The worst bit was when I came home and you weren't here. I needed you, mum." Caroline assures her, "That'll never happen again. I promise. In future, I'm always going to be around." Alison stands there, looking pleased with herself...

The next morning, Gordon opens the front door at Dural and lets Alison in. He tells her that she looks lovely. Alison tells him that she 'phoned Caroline and she's not coming. Gordon remarks that that's understandable. He then adds that Barbara is running late, and he asks Alison if she minds waiting. Alison assures him, "Of course not." She asks if Wayne is around and Gordon replies that he was out by the pool a few minutes ago. Alison says, "I'll see if he's ready to call a truce. It seems ridiculous for us to argue all the time." Gordon warns her, "I don't know if you'll find him very receptive." Alison muses, "Worth a try," and she walks off.

Wayne is sitting out by the pool, working, when Alison joins him and, looking over his shoulder, comments, "Don't tell me you're still making plans for that old house." Wayne snaps, "Mind your own business." Alison picks up some of the papers in front of him, looks at them and comments in surprise, "You've bought the house for yourself. Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me!" Wayne insists, "I'm going to make a killing on this." Alison asks, "Have you told Gordon, or are you going to surprise him by going bankrupt?" Wayne snaps, "If he finds out, I'll know who told him. I might have to do some snitching myself." Alison muses, "I suppose that means you think you've got something on me." Wayne retorts, "You set Samantha up with Trent." Alison laughs, "What an extraordinary idea!" Wayne, though, growls, "I saw you paying him off." Alison challenges, "Prove it." Wayne, however, retorts, "I don't have to - not yet. But I'm sure I can paint a pretty convincing picture: he had a go at Samantha... comes back to Charlie's... you hand over money... he disappears. I don't know what the hell you did it for, but I know you did it." Alison retorts, "I convinced Caroline she can't be a good mother and a company Director at the same time - so, she decided to sell out. Guess who was around to make her a very generous offer? It was all finalised this morning: I now control 50% of the company." Wayne glares at her furiously and snarls, "You won't get away with it." Alison, though, retorts, "I already have. I was just on my way over here to thank you for putting in the groundwork: you went to all that trouble to get Caroline hooked on the booze; made my job a lot easier." Wayne snarls, "You must be the nastiest piece of work I've come across." Alison snaps, "The feeling's mutual. Still, I managed to make you look pretty stupid - but that's nothing new, is it?" Wayne snaps angrily, "Shut up." He suddenly stands up, lunges at Alison, picks her up and carries her so that he's holding her over the edge of the pool. Alison snaps, "Don't be so childish. This dress cost me $700." Wayne grins, "I'm going to enjoy this..." Alison retorts, "You wouldn't dare..." Wayne, though, snaps, "Wouldn't I? You're going to slip, Alison - unless you want me to start mentioning Trent..." With that, he drops her in the pool and looks on in glee as she's soaked to the skin.