Mercy Peak

Trauma registrar Nicky Somerville has a very bad night. She gets punched by a patient she is trying to save, then realises her boyfriend is having an affair. What's worse is her boyfriend is also her boss. A fresh start takes her to the small town of Bassett - only to find that she may be without a job. Her appointment hasn't been ratified by her new boss, Dr William Kingsley - but Nicky is adamant that she can't go back to town. Nicky makes waves by deciding to admit the victim of a car accident. When the resuscitation isn't straightforward, she discovers that the patient, Amanda Masefield is on anti-depressants. Her actions with Amanda only serve to make her more unpopular with William, who makes it clear she's not wanted. However, the administrator Louise seems desperate for her to stay. These reactions make her feel that something is rotten in the state of Bassett and with Dr Kingsley in particular. Nicky takes a depressed trip to the supermarket, where the manager seems determined

Nicky is called to an emergency at Bassett High, where 13-year-old Hayley is in the final throes of labour. Despite limited experience, Nicky delivers the baby. She also meets the local midwife Rhonda, who doubles as Bassett's hairdresser. Nicky is keen to keep on-side with William, but wants to follow Hayley's case through. The plan that Hayley's parents will adopt the baby is thrown out when they discover that the baby is brown so the father must be Maori or Polynesian. Nicky starts to share their concerns that Hayley may have been abused in some way. She is not impressed with the social worker, Cliff, who seems to take a very casual attitude to the whole deal. Fired up, she calls on the help of local cop, Ken. Despite his apparent lack of enthusiasm, he pursues some enquiries, which take him to Kieran Masefield's vineyard where Martin Tiaki works. Nicky continues to disagree with Cliff, then gets in the middle of a confrontation, where Kieran wants more information on Martin. He gav

William is not coping well with the end of his relationship to Louise. Uncharacteristically, he becomes something of a stalker and goes to her house to confront her. Louise is adamant that she won't reconsider, but as they conclude the conversation, Louise's husband Ross arrives home unexpectedly. William suspects that Ross has overheard the conversation. The feeling grows stronger when Ross insists on taking William by chopper to see a patient on an outlying farm. However, en route to this routine callout, Ross sees an injured man in the ranges. William is forced to join him on a tramp through the bush where Ross is holding the machete. The injured young man, Bryce, has shot himself and has a possible spinal injury, but the rescue helicopter is delayed. While they wait, Ross raises the topic of Louise and William is sure that it will end in confrontation. Instead, it seems Ross wants to discuss his relationship with Louise and more particularly, sex. The conversation is interrupted wh

When a young guy who works at Beckhovens Pork Factory gets his hand trapped in a mincer, Nicky also discovers he is using speed on the job. The factory owner Eric, is stressed about possible OSH prosecution and knows that some of his workers are using drugs. Nicky suggests something he could do... William is unimpressed to find that Nicky is organising drug testing for the workers at Beckhovens. William feels that doctors should maintain their objectivity and not take sides. Nicky argues this is an issue of public health and safety, she's trying to be preventative. William lets her go to experience the consequences of her actions... Dana meanwhile is banking on the overtime from the factory because her boyfriend, Todd works there. They want to buy a house together. Her mother Arlene takes a dim view of Todd and undermines them. Todd is sweating about the drug testing, since he uses both speed and dope. But he decides on a nifty way around the problem and gets Dana's son Jordan to provi

When Alistair sees a man bullying his son, he wants to intervene. Alistair also feels anger towards his own father. Since he's twigged about William's affair with Louise, he feels he was dragged back to Bassett under false pretences. He feels sucked in badly, but unable to confront his feelings with William. Meanwhile, the psych survivors have a house, but hit a rock in the form of the council rezoning plans. William assures Gabrielle and supporters that things will work out, but Gabrielle doesn't trust William. One of the most vocal opponents of the psych survivors' house is Malcolm Sweet, councillor and sporting goods salesman. Malcolm's kid is admitted with concussion. Because Alistair saw Malcolm bully his son earlier and the kid has old bruising, Alistair is worried. But he also starts to suspect the kid may have some kind of disorder. He discusses his concerns with Malcolm's estranged wife, Sheryn. The conclusion she draws from their conversation is not what Alistair intended. Ke

Cliff scoffs at Nicky's belief in tragic love and also suggests that being Pakeha (European) she lacks a spiritual connection. Nicky's not impressed. They witness a pub fight between two women, which everyone assumes is over a man - because one of the women, Materoa is a prostitute. When Materoa brought in, Nicky finds she has a raft of medical problems - and also that her pneumonia is in fact tuberculosis. They now need a list of Materoa's contacts. One of the names she supplies is Manu Bishop, CEO of the local iwi authority and the guy who pays part of Cliff's wages. Cliff takes up this delicate matter and gets the clear message that Materoa is being malicious. Materoa agrees, but is unrepentant. Her condition worsens and Nicky is worried that the treatment doesn't seem to be working. She also feels that Cliff has written off Materoa. Cliff thinks that some people don't want to be helped, but also he's discovered Materoa's backstory. She was in love with Manu Bishop's son. They were

Nicky gets an invitation to Chook and Lynda's wedding. Chook and Lynda are the garage proprietors, whose public arguments are notorious in Bassett. What the public doesn't see is that the relationship is also violent. When Nicky realises this, she encourages Lynda to think about the relationship - she's about to marry this man. Lynda doesn't seem to want to hear her. Despite her misgivings, Nicky feels bound to attend the hen night, which turns into a debacle, when Lynda announces that the wedding is off. Nicky was right. Nicky is in the spotlight as the woman who caused the wedding to be cancelled. Kieran is pleased about the cancellation. He's lost a booking, but his view of marriage is cynical. William, meanwhile, thinks Nicky's view of domestic violence is simplistic. Then Nicky confronts a very unhappy Chook, and a miserable Lynda. She also finds that Lynda feels to blame for some of their problems. Nicky assumes that Lynda is playing the victim, but Lynda denies it - she goads hi

Nicky has a dilemma. Kieran may have asked her on a date. Or to a wine tasting. She's not sure. When she obliquely raises this with Alistair, he wonders why she's not interested in Cliff. Nicky is looking for more mystery. Cliff doesn't buy the line about the so-called wine tasting. He warns Nicky about the ex-wives Kieran has buried in the cellar. She becomes more determined to go. Meanwhile, Henk van der Velter has managed to injure himself in a fire. He also seems to be having trouble with the waterworks. His son, Gus, appears to have the flu and Enid is worried about Arthur catching it. William treats Henk and Nicky treats Gus. When she finds Gus and Henk both have gonorrhoea, she comes to a nasty conclusion. That Gus may have caught the infection from his father. Gus refuses to offer any clue about how he caught the disease and William warns caution. Nicky goes to the wine tasting, to find she is the only wine taster invited. It seems to be a date, which goes very well. Nicky is t

When Dana goes to visit a pregnant friend, Kyra, she thinks may have put her baby son in the washing machine. Dana finds this isn't so, but when she checks on the baby, she finds the child is dead. Dana is even more disturbed when Kyra doesn't mention her strange behaviour to William or Ken. Dana shares her worries with Todd, who thinks Kyra's partner Baz should be informed. What if she tries to harm their next child? Dana feels torn about breaching confidentiality, and is relieved when William shoulders the burden. William sees this as a golden opportunity to take issue with Rhonda, the midwife, who has snaffled most of his birthing business. Rhonda is thrown by the implication she's missed Kyra's problems. Dana visits Kyra to find her in a bad way. She removes her from the house, which distresses Baz, particularly as the body of the baby is being returned to the relatives. William supports Kyra. He believes she suffering depression and extreme sleep deprivation, and that she didn't h

A quiet Sunday. Nicky is washing her hair; William and Alistair are playing golf; Louise and Ross are off to an anniversary lunch. When Ken gives chase to a speeding sedan and everything changes. The sedan seems out of control, so Ken decides to back off. Then he finds another car, badly smashed and the sedan no longer in view. Ken tries to rescue the occupants of the second car. The driver is killed, her husband, Colin, is badly burned. In the panic, Ken sees a young man fleeing the scene. William, Alistair and Nicky are drawn into the action. Nicky is back in her element, trauma, and is surprised when William accepts her assessment of how best to deal with the injured in the crash. William accompanies Ricky, an asthmatic and Sue, the passenger from the burning vehicle. Sue is irritating annoys the hell out of Dana. Meanwhile, Nicky deals with David, trapped in the wreck of the sedan. Nicky knows the guy, who is a promising rugby player. Alistair is left, feeling out of his depth, to

Nicky feels she should be doing more to help the people of Bassett and sets about getting Liam's cleaner a hard to get appointment for a shoulder operation. Liam is suspended from school because he was caught smoking dope. William finds a new love and Ken is deeply affected by the recent car crash.

Louise discovers that William has become involved with Sue Lansford and is none too pleased. Gabrielle goes missing sending Ken, Rhonda and Nicky in search of her. Cliff searches for a missing Maori teenager.

Amanda Masefield asks to change her doctor - from William to Nicky. She then invites Nicky to join the Book Club. Afterwards she invites Nicky back to her home and asks her to take back the portrait of her that Kieran bought. Alistair meets Ulrike - a German backpacker but after having dinner with her she suffers a fit brought on by a severe ear infection. A good many town-folk come down with a roto-virus caused by leaking pikes which is discovered by Alistair. Arlene McNichol aims to become a member of the District Health Board much to William's annoyance. Later, Ulrike calls to see Alistair but William tells her he's with a friend - she gives William her contact details but after she has left he throws the details away.

Gil is in the process of turning out the Bassett operatic society's version of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Patience', one of the only operas yet to be performed. His mother is in hospital and wants to undergo an operation to relieve pain caused by a tumor in her colon but Gil doesn't want her to go ahead fearing that it will kill her. Kieran goes to great lengths to get the painting of Nicky back and eventually they end up sleeping together. The next day Nicky tells Kieran they cannot continue with their affair as long as he is married. Kieran tells Nicky he loves her but she walks away.

Nicky is annoyed to find that everyone at the local marae thinks she and Cliff are a couple. She agrees to go on a date with him but it doesn't end well as he fears he is second best to Kieran. The TV that he borrowed from the pub also gets stolen. Louise gets the blame for the budget over-run and takes her frustration out on Nicky. Todd's violent brother Cornell escapes from prison and kidnaps Ken stabbing him in the stomach with a screwdriver

Alistair decides to declare his feelings for Nicky after discovering that she has started a relationship with Cliff and Dana gets more than she bargained for after helping Ken in his recuperation. Nicky discovers Diane Peach's painful secret after her young pregnant daughter is brought into Mercy Peak - that she gave birth at 15 to a Downs Syndrome daughter. She asks Nicky to find out what happened to her. Nicky finds old records and finds that Diane's baby was not born with Downs Syndrome but adopted out by Diane's parents. Nicky and Cliff decide to investigate other cases and believe Gil's mother Matron Crouch was responsible but before they question her she dies in her sleep. She approaches William about his signature on some of the files and finds out that Alastair was also adopted in the same fashion as Diane's baby.

Alastair and Nicky's relationship becomes frosty as well as his relationship with his father because of his adoption. Arthur is having trouble with his breathing and is admitted to hospital. Nicky and Cliff go to Kieran and Amanda's for dinner and are joined by Alastair. But it doesn't go well as Cliff finds out from Keiran that Nicky slept with Kieran before him and leaves the party. Amanda and Alastair have sex in the kitchens after the party breaks up as Kieran seeks out Nicky. William tells Louise the circumstances of Alastair's birth and adoption. Cliff shows up at Nicky's home later that night and she tells him she will never sleep with Kieran again which reassures Cliff.

William and Alastair continue to be at loggerheads and Alastair tells him he is thinking of going back to Germany. Alastair admits Arthur to Pemberley Rest Home telling Enid it is only until his chest infection clears but Enid removes him because she doesn't like the way they treat him there. Nicky and William clash over her patient John and Alastair finds out that his mother committed suicide before she ever saw him. Todd continues to live in squalor and upsets Dana with his attitude. Enid and Arthur take an overdose of Arthur's medication so that they can be together but Gus discovers them and manages to get to Enid on time but Arthur has passed on.

An article entitled "The Stolen Children" is published and it doesn't make life easy for William, especially during the Gilbert & Sullivan operatic show. Enid refuses to go to Arthur's funeral and eventually ends up telling Alastair the full story of what happened. William gives Alastair the paperwork on his birth after Alastair tells William he plans to stay around instead of moving to Germany. Amanda believe that Kieran knows about her tryst with Alastair and Ross tells Louise he knew about her sleeping with William. Kieran tells Nicky that he has moved out of his home after Amanda accused Nicky of telling Kieran about her and Alastair. Kieran asks if they could ever be together and Nicky tells him she'd never have the normal life she craves with him.