When D.S. Roach's case against Mickey Owen, a protection racketeer, is thrown out of court, Roach comes under pressure from the Flying Squad to convince Roxanne, a transvestite informant, to give evidence against Owen. Roach is reluctant, as Roxanne was badly beaten when he failed to protect her the last time she gave evidence. In spite of this, Roxanne finally agrees to testify, considering she has nothing left to lose.

Brownlow is not happy about the office arrangements at Barton Street. Burnside brings in a drug dealer who gets tripped up by Hollis. Penny finds him beaten in the cells and Barton Street doesn't want it to go higher than sergeants. The constable in custody lent the cell keys to another sgt. and the custody sgt. wants to keep it 'in house'.

Greig, Carver and Tosh arrest a man for burglary and drugs. Burnside recuits him as a snout and Operation Middleman is on. The operation to bust a crack house appears to be a stitch up for both Burnside and the suspects arrested. There is animosity between Burnside and the D.I. from the Drugs Squad.

Burnside is not happy about Wray talking to his snout. Wray interviews the suspect at Barton Street but he won't talk in the station. While in hospital he tells Burnside that the snout is being protected by a sgt. from Barton Street. Conway thinks the leak must be in CID. Frank thinks the snout stitched him up. Wray tells burnside he has been promoted and will be stationed at Sunhill.

Conway decides he needs to get back on the beat, and arrests a drunk for criminal damage.

Called to attend to a pub brawl, PC Tony Stamp and PC Dave Quinnan are stunned to find one man unconscious and the other Sun Hill's own DS Ted Roach. Roach is taken back to the station, and while DI Frank Burnside manages to pursuade the victim to drop the charges against him, nothing can be done when Roach headbutts Insp. Andrew Monroe during a heated argument. Ch. Supt. Brownlow calls in MS15 to investigate him, but Roach turns in his warrant card and walks out of the station.

Polly and Gary are called to the Parkmead Estate about a burglary at a flat which results in the wife assaulted and taken to St Hughes. The husband came home and discovered the burglar still there. When Polly talks to the husband at the hospital, he is very upset. He tells Polly and Gary what happened when he saw the burglar and says he chopped off 3 of the burglar's fingers when they were in the kitchen. the fingers were put into a jar of gherkins. Alan Woods tries to get the jar put into the canteen fridge but one of the canteen workers threatens to close down the canteen if it goes into the fridge. So he puts them into the fridge in the conference room. Tosh and Jim interview a patient who has lost 3 fingers who claims his fingers were caught in a lorry door.

Greig and Crofts call on a boy, who had been nicked previously as a pick pocket, because they want to talk to him about burglaries. When they arrive, the boy calls them in because his mother has been assaulted by his father. The boy sold a stolen brooch to a man so he could use the money for his mother. Donna comes up with a link with the burlaries to an alarm firm - 3 of the houses only had dummy boxes. Greig and Crofts visit the security firm manager who mentions a lad in the firm also plays with the boy with the brooch. Lines talks to the mother as he is now handling the assault case. The victim couldn't give a reason for the attack but previous attacks have been over very little. Her son was also hit.

A young man is stabbed by a member of a notorious family of criminals, but no witnesses are prepared to come forward.

PCs Dave Quinnan and Polly Page are searching for Shauna Russell, a young woman with Down's Syndrome who has been reported missing by her mother, Annie and sister Natalie. They finally find her in an underground car park but are concerned by her dishevelled state. Despite protests from Annie, her daughter is examined by the police Doctor, Sue Marton. Shauna complains of feeling sick and when gently questioned it soon becomes obvious that she is pregnant. A test confirms this and the Doctor tells DI Alex Cullen that Shauna is probably three or four months gone but is unsure how much of her condition she actually understands. It cannot yet be determined whether she was assaulted or the intercourse was consensual. The news of the pregnancy leaves Annie dumbstruck whilst Natalie is disturbed by the thought that her sister may have been raped. In interview Shauna is reticent but mentions John, a fellow member of a club she attends, whom she describes as rude. However, when Cullen meets John