McLeod's Daughters

It's shearing time and one of the men arrives with a reputation as a killer. Tess witnesses strange goings on and uncovers a secret, as Claire struggles to maintain her authority over the shearers, desperate to meet the deadline for selling her wool.

Jealousies arise as Claire competes in the rodeo while Nick and Alex compete for Tess's attention. Becky's reputation lands her in serious trouble, and the two sisters forget their differences and come to the rescue.

Claire buys a pen of undernourished sheep from the stock sales, leaving Tess to question her judgment. When the truck transporting them breaks down, the girls are left to drove the ailing sheep home. Meanwhile, Jodi's exam results bring a surprise conclusion.

Tess's confidence is shaken after she falls from her horse, and she ponders whether she truly belongs at Drovers Run. Meanwhile, Claire makes her toughest decision since Jack's death.

Claire feels threatened when she uncovers certain evidence about Jack. Meanwhile, Meg and Claire discover more about Becky's home life when she temporarily returns to work at her parent's truck shop.

A feral bull is wreaking havoc on Drovers Run, and Harry Ryan uses the opportunity to stake his own claim on the girls' property.

A steamy night gives away Meg's secret lover and Claire puts her life on the line against a wild stallion which comes into the night to steal her prized mare.

Tess puts herself in danger when she comes between a dangerous wild boar and Claire's beloved cattle dog.

Emotional and traumatic events of past and present return to haunt the lives of the women of Drovers Run.

Meg struggles to cope with the reality of Jodi's coming of age and during the ensuing surprise party relationships are put to the test.

Tess learns the impenetrable rules of what to say and not to say in the country and an innocent remark re-opens a very ugly wound, which divides the Ryan brothers.

When Bill Tilson decides to sell up and move to the city, Claire sees the precariousness of her own situation on Drover's Run. Meg meanwhile is preparing to make her annual tomato chutney. Despite her best efforts it tastes awful and she doesn't understand why.

Theft is on everyone's mind. There are cattle duffers working in the district. Killarney has been struck - Nick's high tech security cameras undone by rifle fire - and a flock of Claire's sheep have gone missing. Claire's outrage at the thieves is tempered by mortification when she discovers her sheep haven't been stolen at all, but are wandering in the neighbouring National Park. The arrival of Senior Constable Cook to inform Claire of this puts the wind up Becky and Jodi who suspect he knows more than he's saying about Becky's altercation with Brian.

When Claire attends a seminar on Artificial Insemination with Alex she leaves Tess in charge of Drovers Run. In spite of a few doubts, Claire gives her a new pair of boots to honour the occasion. Claire and Alex endure a three hour drive to Fisher together only to be involved in a bingle with Peter Johnson who is running the seminar. He assumes Alex and Claire are a married couple and manages to rile Claire even more.

The sudden death of local farmer Max Martin alarms Harry, prompting inner fears of his own mortality, and a sudden outward drive to defy whatever fate may have in store by pursuing instant and rapid expansion of his property. Meanwhile Claire and Tess come across an accident involving one of their own with dramatic consequences for the Ryans.

A good sale at the sheep sales and the girls are ready to celebrate. A night at the pub, a bit of Karaoke perhaps, all the signs of a great ""Girls Night Out"". But things don't go as planned when it is revealed that the new barmaid, Kimmy, has been copping the same abuse Becky fell victim to at the hands of Brian. Resolving that something must be done and it must be done without Claire's knowledge, the decision is made to wait until closing and see if they can catch Brian fair and square.

Claire is finding it difficult to come to terms with Tess' new found relationship with Alex. Her dream of developing a quarter horse breeding program at Drover's Run looks as if it may be close to coming to fruition and she's using it as an excuse to push Tess away. Tess wants nothing more than to help in any way she can, but Claire, having given Tess her share of the sheep sales, has decided it's time for her to return to the city. She claims to have Tess' interests at heart. She is about to achieve her dream, and wants Tess to have hers - that little cafe in Brunswick she used to talk about.

Love is in the air over Drovers Run. When Alberto, an itinerant, good looking young Italian rescues Jodi from a rampant steer she falls hopelessly in love with him. At first Meg isn't too worried as Alberto will be moving on. Before he can leave however, he saves Jodi yet again, this time from a snake, incurring a snakebite himself in the process. While he is recuperating, love starts to bloom between him and Jodi. Which is exactly what Claire is hoping would be happening between her mare (Blaze) and Harry's stallion (Wildfire).

Tess is obsessed with her new psychology theory - the three levels of why. Armed with one of her mother's old psychology textbooks she figures if she can real reason for people's actions, then everything will be sorted. But all the psychology in the world can't explain why Alex isn't as romantic as she would like him to be, why Becky and Jodi are at each other's throats, or why Loverboy - the bull Claire sells to Nick - keeps breaking out of Nick's yards and returning to Drovers Run.

After a grubby day mustering cattle, Tess is thrilled to see two friends turn up unannounced at the homestead. Simon (Murray Bartlett) and Briony (Alexandra Davies) are her best mates from TAFE. She hasn't seen them for yonks. They're fun, they're charming, they've brought their own food. And while they're still hugging hello they drop their bombshell. They've got a lease on the cafe they all dreamed about and they want Tess to come back to the city with them ASAP.

Jodi's fund raising efforts for Miss Gungellan are reaching fever pitch with a charity bush polo match to be held at Drovers Run, but a cloud of discontent covers the girls when they make a macabre discovery in the dam.