Dimity is conflicted by the news that Julian's life was saved by Arthur Short, and now she must contend with the mysterious fire which has left their Kumeu house in cinders, threatening her financial masterplan. After Pita’s death, Amber soothes her grief in an affair with an older journalist, breaking Julian's heart. Sharon is torn when Dara insists she must choose between her or her interfering family, and she finds herself drifting back to her dangerous old haunts. And Bonnie lives in terror awaiting the moment when Dimity figures out just how guilty she is.