Roberto and Helen are upset when Rocco, their eldest son, returns to town without contacting them. Lucy offers to help Steve find his birth parents. Southgate agrees to help Nick with his boxing training. Sam tries to get Rivers back in school.

Lucy encourages Steve to continue searching for his birth mother even though contact is prohibited by law. Rivers' father convinces him to return to school. Effie contemplates dating an unpopular classmate. Nick accepts a rematch against Tony.

Rose's pregnancy complicates Hartley's plans to host the prestigious Education Awards. Con confronts his father when he lends Rocco money to help get the Shark Pool up and running rather than paying for the audio engineering programme Con is interested in.

Con is discovered to have drugs in his possession when the police raid a party at the warehouse. Rivers' relationship with Sam moves into dangerous territory. Nick makes his amateur boxing debut against Tony at the Shark Pool and wins by knockout. Con's friends try to prove his innocence.

Sam and Rivers continue their affair despite warnings from Yola and must eventually pay the price when their romance is made public. Nick agrees to let Leo Fine manage him as a professional boxer but he loses Jody when she calls an end to their relationship. Sam is forced to leave her job at Hartley.