McLeod's Daughters

Six months after Claire's death, Tess has thrown herself into her work. She wants to assure Charlotte's future, as well as remain faithful to Claire's dream for Drovers. Bushfires sweep through the area and Tess has to face it alone until Stevie turns up to fight by her side. The fire has dramatic repercussions for all involved, forcing Alex and Tess to reconsider their lives.

Stevie agrees to do a seemingly simple favour for Sandra to repay her for not pressing charges for stealing her plane. To get out of Sandra's scheme, Tess takes a big gamble, confident she can defeat Sandra in a winner takes all poker game. Meanwhile, Alex and Nick are deeply concerned that foreclosure from the bank is imminent and decide to take whatever actions necessary.

Tess is surprised in the middle of the night by a stranger named Jack Blake who knocks at the door looking for Jack McLeod... his father. Tess's mind is spinning with the possibility of a new member of the family - something she is lacking after Claire's death. The next morning, Nick and Alex join them for breakfast and Nick's suspicions are raised when he gets the feeling that Jack is lying.

Brad Whittaker, the new Stock, and Station agent make a good first impression on the women of Drovers Run, but things quickly go downhill from there. Sandra has a surprising solution when Alex and Nick face a heart-wrenching decision, while Tess tackles her own problems with a charging bull and a gate.

Stevie's first encounter with fallen rodeo champion Ken Logan occurs when she stops off at his garage for petrol. When Ken later collapses at work, he leaves Stevie with a cryptic message, believing she is his estranged daughter. Meanwhile, Jodi tries to overcome her guilt from a forgotten childhood event, Terry lands a new job, and Tess's dinner with Nick is sidelined by her cold.

When Tess's ideal fantasy world collides with reality, she finds herself being forced to decide between Nick and Dave, the two men who love her. Meanwhile, sheep continue to die on Drovers Run from an unknown cause, and Terry organises an attempt at a line dancing record to promote the grand re-opening of the Gungellan Truck Stop.

Nick and Tess's relationship, or at least what remains of it, is further tested when she discovers that Nick and Alex have started an intensive farming operation and have dammed off the creek. Alex encourages Nick to sort things out with Tess but his eventual attempt at offering an olive branch only makes things worse, pushing Tess to implement Stevie's explosive plan for revenge.

Alex can't believe it when his first love, Tracy Morrison, shows up at Killarney. She soon makes a very tempting offer to Alex; one that appears to involve more than just a business arrangement. Tracy's arrival gives Stevie cause to reflect on missed opportunities, both personal and professional. Meanwhile, Jodi gets to know a man who stops in at the garage.

On Charlotte's first birthday, Tess learns she has a fight on her hands when Peter returns wanting full custody of Charlotte. In support, Alex enlists the help of his barrister father Bryce to help Tess in her custody battle.

An old abandoned well on Drovers Run holds a forgotten secret for Tess, forcing her to re-evaluate her stance in the custody battle with Peter, and leading her to a difficult decision about Charlotte's future. Meanwhile, Harry and Sandra have a surprise for Alex and Nick.

Stevie's ex-husband arrives at Drovers Run with some surprising news: their divorce never went through and he's here to win her back. Meanwhile, Jodi's fundraising for the CFS gets a boost when she meets new recruit Dylan, and Dave and Nick continue to butt heads over Tess.

When Tess's truck breaks down on the way to the sale, a stranger named Bree offers to help. Tess sends Jodi and Bree on to the sale with her cattle, but they end up being kidnapped and Tess must enlist the aid of Nick, Stevie, and Alex on her search. Meanwhile, Alex doesn't understand why Stevie freaks out when she sees her name printed on the flyers for the Rodeo School.

Meg's glamorous sister, Celia Rivers, arrives at Drovers Run. They have a falling out over their disparate lives and Celia heads into the bush in a huff and gets lost. The Drovers women, with Nick and Alex, set out in search of her. Celia eventually finds her way home, but in the meantime, Jodi has been in danger of attack from a feral dog. Celia admits to Meg that her life has hit rock bottom.

Jodi battles with what seems like the biggest decision of her life after her old friend Kate Manfredi arrives at the ranch. Tess hires Kate on a three-month probation period because they need all the help they can get at Drovers Run. At Killarney, Harry and Sandra arrive back from their honeymoon and proudly make an announcement that Sandra is pregnant.

Heading to the Bachelor and Spinsters' Ball, the girls from Drovers Run are ready for a big night out. On the way, they pass Dave at a roadside field and newcomer Kate is immediately smitten. Meanwhile, the Ryan brothers get into a bar fight while waiting for the girls to show up and Stevie has a secret agenda that the others are about to uncover.

When Stevie's 13-year-old daughter Rose arrives unannounced, life at Drovers Run is thrown into turmoil for everyone, and Stevie is faced with revealing the biggest secret of her life. Meanwhile, Alex forms a bond with Kane and even agrees to help him spray-paint a ute a rather startling shade of pink.

The weekend of Stevie and Alex's rodeo school has finally arrived and they are excited with the prospect of turning their fresh-faced students into rodeo stars. Kate, as their assistant, wields a whistle and a tight schedule, and she catches the eye of one of the students, Paul, who takes an immediate shine to her. Meanwhile, Tess reaches out to Nick when he's sick.

Stevie and Kane meet under less-than-perfect circumstances when they are brought together by a minor car accident at the truck stop. Despite the awkwardness of their introduction, the charismatic Kane makes a huge impression on Stevie. Meanwhile, Kate begins having nightmares about her stalker experience.

Tess's birthday forces her to take a long, hard look at herself, but she "sees" more than she bargained for and unwittingly creates some midsummer night's madness. Sandra and Harry ask Nick to father a child for them.

Kane's relationships with Stevie and Alex strains their friendship. They are each aiming for Kane's attention: Alex as a mate, Stevie as a lover; but they have no idea that Kane is using them both for his own advantage. Meanwhile, Luke is enjoying working with Terry at the truck stop, and Kate and Jodi compete for a title to go with their job.

Tess decides to turn traditional courtship on its head and ask Nick to marry her, but it doesn't take long for the rest of the household to find out what she has in mind. Then, Dave makes a discovery that threatens to derail the proposal permanently. Meanwhile, Jodi and Luke's relationship continues to blossom with him accepting an invitation from her to the race after-party at Drovers Run.

Vin Riley has come looking for Stevie and, more specifically, for the opals he believes are rightfully his. She decides to leave with Kane and the other women are stunned at her sudden decision. Stevie hasn't told them about Vin, so they can't help feeling hurt as she has chosen a life with Kane so quickly. Meanwhile, everyone is busy trying to track down some feral pigs that are wreaking havoc.

Feeling that she's been given an omen, Tess becomes increasingly afraid, for Nick, for Charlotte, even for the safety of the pregnant ewes, which she insists be brought in to the house paddock for lambing. Stevie, now part owner of Drovers, proposes a couple of new, money-making schemes, but due to her fear, Tess is uncharacteristically conservative.

Just as romance starts blossoming between Jodi and Luke, her position in the Country Fire Service is compromised when suspicion falls on Luke over a series of arson attacks. Meanwhile, sparks fail to fly between Tess and Nick when they complete their pre-marriage compatibility test and Stevie works on Tess's wedding preparations as her "Best Woman."

After an earth tremor, the cattle are skittish and the bore has dried up on Drovers Run. Tess worries that it is a sign before her wedding to Nick. In the interests of harmony and good omens, Tess decides to invite Sandra to her hens night, something that makes Sandra suspicious. After talking to Nick, she eventually accepts, turning up late.