Jack is the only competition for Dash and her athletic brother, Alec, in the Heritage Day Races, and the McKinleys aren't about to let a boy from the bush swallow their odds. The Heelers lay their bets on Jack, which only spurs Dash on. Alec has returned to Mt. Thomas as the new physical education teacher with high hopes of coaching the girls' hockey team and his two best players to stardom. For Alec the game is to win, at any cost. Dash is proud of her big brother but at a loss to defend him when she sees his star hockey player slap him hard across the face. What could he have done to deserve that? A rejected schoolgirl crush? Maggie discovers Alec was accused of sexual interference with a student at his last school, then catches him hugging another student. Dash, protective in her disbelief, goes on the defensive. Maggie seems determined to nab her brother and Dash is none too pleased about it. Two young hockey players claim Alec coaches them in more than hockey, and when Alec gets c

Mt. Thomas's resident witch, Siobhan Kennedy is back in town. Her arrival coincides with rumours that someone is taking money for lifting curses on people in Mt. Thomas. Ben is horrified to discover that a pregnant women is paying someone so that she will bear a healthy child. At first he is convinced that Siobhan is dealing in the evil eye, but soon realises that she is worried as he is. But a prerequisite of faith is not to be questioned, so those who believe they are cursed will not help Ben in his enquiries. And if no-one lays a complaint, the police cannot proceed any further. Frustrated at every turn in his attempt to uncover what he believes to be a scam on women in highly stressed, emotional states, Ben must find alternative paths to the truth. In his quest, Ben must not only question his own belief systems, he must be prepared to welcome assistance from someone who throws those beliefs into further doubts. But the life of an unborn child is at stake, and Ben learns that blind

Ben is shocked when he discovers a group of young girls practicing witchcraft under the guidance of an older man. Are they in danger? Ben battles to keep his protective instincts in check as his investigations reveal more than he was prepared for. Can he save the girls, or are they already deep under the man's spell?

Tom finds parenthood is no easier the second time around. First his younger stepson is injured in an anti-abortion rally, then the older one admits to having caused the pregnancy of a local girl. To cap it off, his daughter gets defensive because her flatmate is a suspect in the brutal attack of the local doctor, who is running a controversial women's clinic. Tom recognises that his elder stepson isn't a kid any more and an unexpected bond forms between them.