Connor is horrified to learn that his rugby hero has been admitted to Ward 17 with stab wounds from his girlfriend. Connor is excited after arranging to look after his idol, but his opinion of the man changes drastically after spending time with him and learning what prompted the attack. Peter keeps vigil at his wife's bedside in ICU in hopeful anticipation of her recovery. Two women with contrasting reasons for being in hospital find themselves sharing a room. Jared reconciles with his ex-fiancée Amanda.

The 1998 season finale is packed with emotion when Ward 17 celebrates Christmas. A sick child hopes that her Christmas wish will come true; an elderly man asks Santa for a special gift for his ailing wife; Von learns the true meaning of Christmas; a homeless man goes to great lengths to stay in All Saints for Christmas dinner and Bron is in for a surprise at the Ward 17 Christmas party. Sophie is faced with the possibility of losing custody of her children to her father-in-law. Connor has decided it is finally time to tell Bron how he feels while Jared and Jaz receive test results.

Peter is pushed to the limit when his life seems to be falling apart and he considers taking drastic measures. Samantha and Jared suspect a son of drugging his father but their differing approachs to the case serves to highlight their different backgrounds. Ben decides he can't wait for Steph to come around to the idea of having children and makes a momentous decision. While running the ward, Steph sends the staff mad when she takes her study too seriously. Jared and Samantha's relationship is made public, much to Jared's surprise. Luke leads a group of students on rounds and Mitch find the proper motivation to aid a patient's recovery.

Sister Bernard again questions Terri about her commitment to All Saints and apparent lack of commitment to the Order's community house. Terri is outraged to learn that Bernard has already taken the liberty of discussing the situation with the Superior General. To Bernard's way of thinking, Terri needs to make a decision about what really is the priority in her life.

When Connor learns that his brother Greg has been admitted to All Saints, he is reticent about making contact. The pair has not seen each other for over a year and their relationship is far from rosy. Connor swallows his pride and arranges for his brother to come to Ward 17, hoping that this could be his chance to build bridges with his estranged sibling. But Greg's antagonistic behaviour is not making things easy for either of them.

A newlywed couple begins to think they are never going to make the cruise they have booked for their honeymoon. The groom has been brought into All Saints on his wedding night following an asthma attack at the reception. Just when it looks like he is about to be discharged, he suffers another attack and Mitch has no option but to keep him under further observation. Then, when the evacuation happens, it really looks as if they will miss the boat.

An unidentified male patient who attempted suicide is sent up from Emergency. He is believed to have taken a non-lethal dose of a sleeping pill. What starts out to be a straightforward babysitting job turns nasty when the patient suddenly arrests and dies. Von and Steph are in the process of laying out his body when the pathology lab puts through an urgent call to Mitch. The blood tests indicate the patient has swallowed a highly reactive agricultural chemical which has reacted with the fluid in his stomach. The dead man's body is consequently leaching toxic fumes. As a result, Ward 17 needs to be evacuated.

A disaster plan is put into action. When all the patients are removed from the ward, the staff themselves are shepherded outside and ordered to take blood from and examine each other. All are told to be on the lookout for possible side effects of exposure. Realising they are dealing very much with an unknown quantity, Steph worries that her fertility may be affected.

Bron is disillusioned about her career in the ambulance service. She is frustrated that she is unable to use a lot of the skills she acquired during her years of nursing. But while she and Ben are transporting a patient from Ward 17 to St Angela's, both her nursing and ambulance skills are required to help treat a fitting patient. This experience renews her commitment to the ambulance service and she decides to study for her Level 2 exams.

Gabrielle Flanagan is admitted onto Ward 17 to donate bone marrow for a 12-year-old girl with leukaemia. On hearing her name, Von and Steph both wonder if it is "the Gabrielle Flanagan" — a woman whose baby daughter was stolen from her 10 years ago. Connor's curiosity is aroused. He is dying to ask Gabrielle — who is his patient — if she's the one. He does not have to wonder for long as Gabrielle, being highly strung and paranoid after so much time in the media spotlight, informs him that it is indeed her. Although they have got off to a bad start, Connor's sympathy grows as Gabrielle tells him about the never-ending quest to find her daughter, whom she believes may still be alive. Gabrielle shows Connor an image projection of what her daughter would look like now at age 12. Connor thinks it is uncanny that the picture looks very similar to the 12-year-old patient Alex, who is also in the Ward, to receive Gabrielle's bone marrow.

Jared tells Connor that Alex is adopted and they start to wonder if she could be Gabrielle's daughter — right age, exact bone marrow match, the likeness in the image projection picture. Gabrielle encounters Alex in the hospital grounds and is amazed at the resemblance to what her daughter should look like. She pesters Connor for details and when he can't tell her anything she manages to sneak a look at Alex's file. When she learns it is Alex who will be receiving her bone marrow she is convinced she is about to be reunited with her long lost baby girl.

Meanwhile, Alex Richards is devastated to learn from her parents she is adopted. She cannot understand why her parents kept it a secret from her — obviously they must be ashamed of her. Terri manages to convince the girl to listen to her parents' explanation of why they chose to lie to her.

Kevin Simms is admitted to the Ward suffering advanced emphysema. He is in a bad way and Mitch has to tell him he only has a short while to live. But Kevin is desperate to make it one extra week. He has put in for a marriage certificate so he can marry Liz, the woman he loves. Making her his wife is the only thing that will allow Kev to rest in peace — he wants to will his house to her but he is sure that his nasty sister is going to contest it. However, if Liz is his wife, his sister Maisie won't have a leg to stand on. Tony, who is feeling very depressed about his Hep C, discovers that in special circumstances a marriage licence can be rushed through. Tony seems to get a new lease on life as he sets about organising a perfect wedding for Kev and Liz. The only question is… will Kev stay alive long enough to make it to the altar?

Bron and Ben attend what has been described to them as a domestic dispute. A frantic man, Raymond, meets the ambulance and tells them he's stabbed his best mate Trevor. He thinks he has killed him! Bron and Ben race in side and are more than surprised by what they find.

Alex Richards is free from the rubble. She is unconscious, suffering head injuries and in urgent need of surgery. Luke and John Madsen perform a craniotomy to remove a haematoma, and although Alex survives the operation she suffers a respiratory arrest on the Ward. Steph manages to stabilise her but she goes into a coma. Her prognosis is not good and her mother, Di, is distraught.

Luke and Madsen are operating on Rob when the word comes through he is the one responsible for setting the bombs. Luke has just heard of Alex's decline and is so angry he does not care whether Rob lives or dies. But he learns a lesson in professionalism from Madsen.

Unknown to all of them, Rob left a ticking bomb on the Ward when he went into surgery. He is prepared to lose his life for the sake of his vendetta.

Jared is nursing Mrs Price who is frantic about her two missing children, Caitlin and Rowen. When news comes through the kids have been located, Jared suggest Bosco might go over to the site to entertain and distract the kids while the rescue workers try to free them. Bosco laughs in Jared's face and says he has no intention of putting his life in danger and says he is going home.

Over at the Medical Centre, Bron and Ben are just at about their wit's end trying to calm Rowen and Caitlin, when out of nowhere (it seems) a clown appears. Bosco calms the kids and he finally has an audience who appreciates his jokes.

In the middle of the chaos, Mitch proposes to Rose. It never occurred to him she might want time to consider his proposal. In fact, there are a few delicate matters concerning his past that she wants to discuss before she will give him a genuine answer.

Tension levels on the Ward rise even higher when it is learnt Rob is being sent back to Ward 17 after surgery. When Alex's distraught mother Di discovers the man responsible for the bomb is on the Ward after she loses control. She barges into Robs room and starts to attack him. AS far as she is concerned, it is totally unfair for him to live through when it looks like her daughter is dying. Terri has to throw herself in front of Rob to defend him. It is then he tells Terri there is one more bomb...

As Luke faces the internal investigation into his supposed negligence, he is forced to defend himself, putting his career and relationship with Bron on the line. Ben attends the attempted suicide of a mysterious young man. Will the truth of his haunted psyche be revealed before it's too late? Mitch goes into battle against the hospital authorities when patient's relatives are forced to sleep in the car park due to lack of funds.

The staff of Ward 17 fight desperately to save the life of a sixteen-year-old boy suffering from a rare blood disorder. The situation intensifies when he begins to haemorrhage internally and Mitch doesn't think he can stop the bleeding. Two high school friends end up on the ward after mixing an ecstasy tablet with too much booze at their high-school reunion. Following Steph's funeral, Steph's mother returns to Ward 17 to see where her daughter worked and becomes involved with the staff and patients. Meanwhile, Luke bonds with a young woman with Downs Syndrome, and Bron grows concerned for Ben when she see how he is coping with Steph's death.

Brittany, under Jared's wing, has a "coming of age" working experience when Ian, an alcoholic lecturer with liver damage, and Lee, a car accident victim with a drinking habit are brought together in Room Four. Brittany develops a crush on Lee and goes so far as to kiss him. Jared spies them both and educates her on the need to separate her work from play. Brittany takes no heed until Jared forces her to do her normal nursing duties and help Lee with his toiletry. The lesson is a sorry one for romance and earns Jared Brittany's resentment.

Scott attends his first domestic violence call-out with Ben to find that a girl has been stabbed in the neck by her boyfriend. Scott provokes a fight with him. When Bron is assigned to nurse the girlfriend, it is discovered all is not as it seems. Mitch diagnoses a young woman with a serious heart condition and tries to reassure her by suggesting they fly in a top surgeon to operate. Kate initially supports the idea, but does a back flip when Claudia goes on the warpath about the cost. Mitch is disgusted believing Kate has sold out.