Detective Dave Burrows has longed for the top job in the Stock Squad but never thought he'd be acting in that role while his partner and best mate, Detective Bob Holden, is treated for melanoma. Bob is keen to get back on the road and Dave can't wait to go bush either, expecting the trip will be much the same as usual. But the trip doesn't play out that way. Multiple bomb blasts in the small country town of Kallygarn send shock waves through the state of WA, and Dave and Bob are once again drawn into the underworld of crime.

Jenny Hayward cannot believe that she's become a divorced fifty-year-old woman with adult children. When did that happen? It wasn't that long ago that her three daughters were still young, and Jenny was following her dream studying for her nursing degree. In the last two years, since her husband walked out, Jenny hasn't had the time to be interested in other men until she is thrust unexpectedly into the world of dating when her daughters and her best friend secretly set her up with a profile on a dating app. Initially outraged, Jenny finally agrees that it's time to move on.

Reggie Macleod had her life sorted. As a kid in a small school with only twelve students; she vowed she was going to live in the city and be something important. And she'd followed her dream. Then her world changed with one phone call from her brother. Returning to River Styx, the cattle property where she grew up on the New England Tablelands, Reggie came home to help after her parents barely survived a car accident. It was only going to be for a couple of months … that was almost three years ago.

Alice Croydon has the perfect life: she has a large, close-knit family who loves her—even if they are sometimes a little too invested in her decisions—and she's about to marry her high school sweetheart Finn. Alice couldn't be happier. Except for the occasional niggle whenever she thinks about her career—or lack thereof. Fashion design has always been her passion, but living in the small north-western New South Wales town of Gunnindi doesn't offer much opportunity to pursue her dream. Until one day the unexpected happens.

When a drought dries up the contents of a water hole on her uncle's property, the last thing Investigative journalist Phillipa Davenport expected to find was a body. On a deadline and with a severe case of writers block, Pip doesn't have time to investigate this story—she just wants to write her book. However, the universe and her neighbour seem to have other ideas. And then there's the mysterious detective assigned to the case, who Pip is beginning to find very distracting. 

It had been two long years since Lincoln Callahan had found himself in front of the gates to Stringybark Creek. He was in the army then - a lifetime ago. Linc had always been the unsettled Callahan, looking for danger, the one who couldn't wait to leave the family farm. This time he was back for his little sister Hadley's wedding. From far and wide, the Callahan relatives were streaming towards Stringybark Creek. Linc's little brother, Griffin, was the steady son, the one who stayed at home, the one who did the right things. And now, the one who had feelings for city girl Cash Sullivan. 

When marketing executive Tessa Mathison leaves London to attend her great-aunt's funeral in Australia, her life is in turmoil. An indiscretion during a boozy night out has resulted in Tessa's name being mud in London's cliquey marketing scene, and soon after she arrives in her homeland she discovers she's been sacked. Tessa's childhood home, Danjar Plains, is an isolated station which holds some bad memories for her. She plans to escape it as soon as the funeral is over, but then an unusual request in her Aunt Violet's will makes it impossible for her to leave.

Charity Farrugia is too sensible to believe she'll find love in a paddock. After all, at thirty-four, she's the one with the secure career and the mortgage. The one who took on the job of raising her two sisters when Mom got sick. Everyone knows she's the practical one. The responsible one. Yeah, the boring one. But it would be neither safe nor prudent to let Faith and Hope spend a weekend in the country without her, would it?

Jason Weaver just wants to be left alone. It was a tough transition from his army days to civilian life, and he's looking forward to settling into a solitary life. Tilly Hollis is working two jobs to save for her dream career: running an equine therapy program. Tilly loves her horses more than anything, and after losing her husband and business partner just a few years earlier, she's determined to make it work on her own. When Jason walks into the café where Tilly works, they're immediately drawn to one another. But can they overcome their pasts to find a future together?

When city naturopath Rilee Summers meets gorgeous farmer Dan Kincaid, a whirlwind romance follows, and the next thing she knows she's married and living on her husband's family property in a small rural community. But Rilee's city ways and new naturopathy practice, and her outspoken views on teen pregnancies, only serve to alienate her from the deeply conservative townsfolk and her in-laws.

After a disastrous marriage, December Doyle has returned to her hometown to try to pick up the pieces of her life and start again. She's also intent on helping breathe new life into the Christmas Creek township, so the last thing she needs is trouble. Bad boy Seth Hunter has also returned to Christmas Creek, and trouble is his middle name. Wrongly convicted of a serious crime in his youth, Seth is now a successful businessman, but he's intent on settling some old scores. As teenagers, December and Seth were madly in love, and seeing each other again reawakens past feelings. 

Bridie Farrell and Shaun Broderick come from opposite sides of the tracks. Bridie's family are perennial strugglers whilst the Brodericks are the wealthy owners of Jinjulu - one of the most prestigious properties in the district. Bridie has always longed to leave the small town she grew up in, but family responsibilities have kept her anchored there. Meanwhile, Shaun's dream of taking over the management of Jinjulu is dashed by his dictatorial father. who tries to rule Shaun's life both on and off the farm.

Single mother Lucy Parker loves the quiet historical charm of her hometown of Bundah. But raising her teenage daughter, Belle, in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business is challenging. Troubled Hugh Thompson arrives in town and buys a run-down pub with big plans for a fresh start. But soon after a spate of teenage drug overdoses starts to divide the locals, and there are whispers they might be connected to this newcomer who has a dark and mysterious past. 

After losing her family farm to an aggressive global conglomerate, ambitious farmer Georgie Henderson manages Stoney Creek, a cattle farm in the New England region of NSW, spending every waking moment plotting and saving to buy Tamban back from those corporate vultures. When an unlikely meeting with Armani-clad businessman Michael Delacourt at a rowdy B&S Ball sends them on a whirlwind romance, Georgie can't believe it's possible for life to be this good. But her world shatters when she discovers the shocking secret Michael has been trying to keep from her.

It was a straightforward request. Take her gran home to her beloved Scotland. In the space of a few days, Elle loses her job and her home and faces moving back in with her parents - where she knows she'll hear a lot about how she is wasting her life, unlike her three siblings. Then Gran's will is read and everything changes.