As Mike begins his first assignment as a CID officer, his replacement, northerner Steve Crane, rides into Aidensfield to take on the role of village bobby, but Ventress thinks the youngster is too eager to prove his worth as he investigates a spate of farm break-ins, whilst Mike grows disillusioned with CID work when he takes on a surveillance operation involving the girlfriend of an armed robber. Meanwhile, Vernon tries to impress the new village doctor, Liz Merrick, with his community spirit when she attempts to prove herself to the late Tricia Summerbee's regular patients who are against the idea of a new doctor taking over.