An Irish language newspaper finds itself in disarray when its editor suddenly dies. Enter Rob Cullan, a Fleet Street journalist with a murky past who finds himself the reluctantly appointed saviour. Quickly earning the respect of a largely hostile staff by standing up to the local hard man McDevit, Rob reacquaints himself with Belfast.

Alix struggles to be objective when Mark, the killer of her friends' daughter in a hit-and-run incident, is released back into the community. Feeling pressure from the grieving parents, Alix is determined to prove that Mark is back to his old tricks - but just how far is she willing to go?

A gallery opening provides the ideal setting for Alix to make a slightly drunken move on Rob. Young journalist Michael is disenchanted with his assignment to a local library losing books through theft - but soon finds a more interesting story beneath the surface.

When Ling, a gifted young Chinese volleyball player, is threatened with deportation, Rob rallies the paper to get behind her. Meanwhile, Alix is in for a shock when Rob's estranged wife Rebecca shows up at the newspaper office with his children in tow. Michael gets a hard lesson in ethics from Cormac.

Sean unearths a disturbing connection between old church grounds and the building of a shopping centre. Diarmaid attempts to organize a morale-boosting night out while Rob finds his old life clashing with his new when Alix and Rebecca come face to face again.

A chance encounter with a mysterious young woman has Rob and his staff investigating a sex trafficker in a daring undercover sting - but are all the team up for the job? Elsewhere Diarmaid is piling on the pressure in a cost-cutting exercise that could see one of the editorial team out of a job. Michael discovers all is not what it seems at the local car wash.

As Diarmuid is on the brink of selling the paper to a local investor, Cormac discovers Janine has been keeping a worrying secret. Meanwhile, Rob gets the phone call from London he has been waiting for with an offer he can't refuse. Alix is tasked with digging into the story of an elderly woman found dead and forgotten in her home, and in the process uncovers a life less ordinary.

Rob is editor-turned-negotiator when local man Michael Casey takes an elderly jeweler hostage. As the siege escalates, Rebecca Cullan arrives in quiet support of her husband. Rebecca realizes Alix's feelings for Rob as events in the house reach a terrible climax.