Helen returns to The Alice to face the coroner's inquest into the death of her husband Connor at Rainbow Valley. Her dead best friend Patrick is by her side as always but she's not letting on - everyone already thinks she's crazy. While she's been gone, ex-rock star Jack Jaffers has erected The Baa Bar - could he actually be putting down roots? He offers her a room out the back, which turns out to be a caravan with no roof, but he's as charming as ever and she accepts. Helen reveals to her lawyer Sonia that she still believes herself to be responsible for Connor's death. Despite Sonia's best efforts to convince her it's just misplaced guilt, Helen is determined to take the stand. Meanwhile, Toby and Michael have moved their Four Wheel Adventure business into Jack's bar and money is tight. Toby suggests they institute Night Sky Dreaming tours of the stars. Michael's insulted - he's not dressing up like a postcard blackfella while Toby sits around doing nothing. They fall out. Ellie ...

Helen Gregory tries to find out if she is responsible for the death of her father. Matt Marione can't forget the night he spent with Ellie Delaney and Jack Jaffers waits for the right moment to tell Jess that he is her father. Toby Delaney tries to get his parents back together, but his dad finally moved out.

In the desert, a storm is brewing. Matt, racked with guilt at having an affair with Ellie while sharing a house with Hugh and Toby, goes bush in search of his plant. Not long into his journey he is almost struck by lightning and comes across the wrestling Watts brothers Dougie and Barry, a couple of bush mechanics who claim to be able to help him in his search, for a price. It's Jess's birthday and Kirk from the junkyard gives Jack an ultimatum - tell her he's her biological father or Kirk will reveal all. Jack invites Jess to celebrate her birthday at the Baa Bar's inaugural Happy Hour with the intention of telling her. Helen is shocked when she learns of Jack's paternity but tries to support him. Reassured, Jack rehearses his speech in the mirror and imagines Jess announcing to an ecstatic crowd My dad is a rock star! After running out of petrol, Matt and the Watts brothers push the car to the nearest homestead where they come across Cheryl who is in the advanced stages of labour ...

Toby and Michael's friendship is put to the test when they compete for the affection of gorgeous backpacker Simone - a girl with a dark secret that will take them deep into the desert and into a spooky run of bad luck. They are run off the road by a blown tyre, a snake finds its way into the cabin of the four-wheel drive only to mysteriously die there, and Simone nearly falls over a cliff. Then, as it becomes obvious Simone is drawn to Michael, Toby gets his nose out of joint and things become increasingly tense between the three of them. Simone finally reveals the true nature of their expedition: to return a sacred object souvenired by her parents. Ever since taking it, her family has been cursed with a run of bad luck that culminated in the death of her mother and father. Michael is aghast when he discovers they have been travelling with this object and now understands why all these strange things are happening. He explains to Simone that she can't just leave it in the desert - it ...

When Hugh discovers that Ellie is having a relationship with Matt, all hell breaks loose. Jess finds that accepting Jack into her life is a struggle.

In order to impress Helen, Jack takes her for an outback spin in a new Mercedes he's borrowed from a local car yard under the ruse of a test drive. Romance is in the air but just when a kiss at their secluded picnic spot seems imminent fate intervenes - a wayward champagne cork lands on the car's electronic key and locks them out. As tensions rise, Jack decides to walk back down the highway to a roadhouse, leaving Helen under the protection of Rusty and Patrick. A dusty kilometre later, Jack thumbs down a Mack truck. The driver - an attractive woman, Maxine - agrees to drop Jack off but when they reach the roadhouse, the sight of a police car prompts her to keep driving. Turns out she's on the run - from her husband and the law. Having discovered Greg's affair she has trapped him on the roof of his truck shed without a ladder. If the extreme heat doesn't kill him, the fall will. Back at the car, Helen's patience runs out. Smashing a window, she takes off after Jack. In the meantime, ...

Late at night Toby witnesses some strange lights - maybe it's a UFO. Unfortunately for him, Michael doesn't see them or believe him. Neither does his dad Hugh. Jack returns from a morning walk to be informed by Helen that a bag of unopened mail has arrived for him. Jack doesn't 'do' mail, so Helen should sort it out for him. When Helen finds a big royalty cheque from Germany, Jack, in an attempt to bond with Jess, makes a spur of the moment grand gesture and promises to use the money to take Jess to Scotland, to visit the home of her ancestors. Despite warnings from Patrick, Helen agrees to play netball for Jess's team the next night. Meanwhile, Jess's best friend and Michael's sister Natalie has arrived in town for the weekend, with a secret. It doesn't take long for Jess to learn she's here for a blind date with a guy she met on the Internet. Back at home, Jess walks in on Elliein bed with Matt. It's embarrassing all round and Ellie and Matt realise they need to find a private space...

Jack is bitten by a tick, what causes him to hallucinate and break up with his new romance Tansy. Ellie and Matt spend a romantic weekend together, but will Ellie survive that? Natalie meets the perfect guy, but how perfect can he really be?

Hellen fears that her ex-husband Connor starts to hunt her again. She turns to celebrity psychic Bryan Abbot for help. Jess is also there and hopes to hear from her mother, but gets a surprise instead. Toby and Matt try to make up, while being with the Watts Brothers. Jack finds a new distraction in a young widow.

A strange wind blows through the town, and when it forces Toby and Michael to cancel a climb, they keep the tourists occupied by telling stories about how the wind can affect the lives of everyone it touches. When Jack gets concerned that he has lost his cool, he goes wandering through the desert. Written by Allister Coots

Matt and Jess visit a local community and are shocked by a patient they visit. Toby and Michael vie for two backpackers, but they can't decide who couples with whom. Jess finally agrees, that her relationship with Darren is getting too complicated. Jack brings Helen in trouble.

Michael gets a stint on radio. Jack worries over his dinner plans with Helen. While searching for a time capsule together, Jess and Toby hook up once again, but what will go wrong this time? Hugh tries to repair his relationship with his son, forcing himself to move out of Toby's house.

Toby and Darren vie for the Jess. While one proposes, the other reveals his true feelings for her. Matt goes too far in purchasing a vintage motorbike. Toby and Michael's car is stolen by a juvenile work experience kid. Helen and Jack appear to be rekindling their love for each other.

Jess tries to pull it off with Darren, but inadvertently starts wedding preparations. Toby does what he can to get Jess back. Helen decides to become a model for an artist. Jack tries bonding with Darren. With Kyas Sherriff as Natalie Anderson, Kick Gurry as Darren, Evelyn Rankmore as Receptionist, Jacob Allan as Rob, Hayley Law as Ann, Emma Buzzo as Sam and Archie Woodhouse as Ben.

The pressure becomes too overwhelming for Jess. Jack offers to pay for the wedding even though he is going broke. To improve his financial status, Jack attempts a camel race where the prize money is $10,000. Jack is concerned that Helen and Simon Westlake are having an affair. Matt and Ellie have different plans for the future.

On the anniversary of Patrick's death, his younger brother shows up and searches Helen. Ellie and Matt finally break up and Toby starts to worry about Ellie. Meanwhile Matt already tries to hook up with Claude. Jack makes Helen an offer about her caravan and Natalie challenges Michael to a land-sailing race. Jack and Helen help Hugh to clean his house from bad spirits.

Michael travels to Purgatory Hill with Jack on a hunt for Lara. Jess and Darren return to the Alice for one last day before Darren must leave to work on the mine again. Matt continues to irritate Jess and Darren. Ellie's sculpture, on display in the foyer, is turned upside down, and Ellie goes to extreme measures to return it to normal.

When nude sketches of Helen are stolen during a burglary, she fears that her secret will be exposed. Natalie pretends she is dating Matt to make Will jealous, and the two boys find themselves competing to capture a rogue cane toad that has been causing havoc in Alice Springs. Written by Allister Coots

Jack loses his job as the lead singer of the band. Toby is concerned about a woman who has just lost her son. Helen's real estate job gets steamy and she may ruin her chances of staying in the profession. Matt and Natalie have an accidental kiss, which changes the situation entirely. Hugh helps Ellie overcome her fear of being alone.

Simon Westlake messes in Jack's patch by luring Rusty away with daily treats of prime porterhouse steak and becoming interested in Helen when he asks her to show him some real estate, neither of which Jack likes. When Simon suggests a friendly game of football between the Bull Bar Bulls and the Baa Bar Rams to Jack, he accepts the challenge, but the Rams have to deal with a secret agenda. Written by Allister Coots

Jack reacquaints himself with the joys of meditation in a makeshift sweat lodge and is shown a tantalising glimpse of his future: an abandoned mine shaft, a skeleton in a Hawaiian shirt, and a glorious reef of gold in a bed of quartz. Jess' guilt about sleeping with Toby the night before her engagement to Darren resurfaces. Jack finds himself an unwilling participant in a love triangle when finds himself reunited with a feuding couple. As events in his life begin to resemble those in his vision, Jack realises what he saw may have been a premonition of his death. Matt's pride won't allow him to lose the hospital's charity fun run to Nat. Ellie has a decision to make about her future in the Alice when she receives a job offer in Germany.

Helen must face reality when a Patrick look-a-like arrives in town. David Blake is an insurance agent who is in search of a death beneficiary known only as trousers. Intrigued by the new arrival, Helen offers to help and the two spend the perfect day together. Toby sets his sights on a new vehicle and is eager to expand the business but Michael, after surviving a near-death experience, abruptly quits his job.