When a drug-affected croc poacher climbs naked up a flagpole and falls to his death, Ted and Amanda investigate the source of his mystery narcotic while following Julian’s (Andrew Buchanan) money trail and uncovering family secrets.
After croc poacher Nathan Marsh (Josh Lacey) climbs naked up a flagpole before falling to his death, it’s clear there’s a new drug in town – even former Narc Ted (Thomas Jane) can’t identify it. Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) is convinced the drug is linked to Julian’s (Andrew Buchanan) murder, and she appears to be right when the Marsh family reveal that Nathan was sacked as Family Tree’s gardener for dealing drugs. Nathan’s mother insists her boy was not a dealer, implying Raph (Ethan Lwin) is the one with former issues.
While wondering if Julian might have been covering for his son yet again, Ted and Amanda track down the owner of White Hat Investments, Flo Latham (Caroline O’Connor). After Kelly (Radha Mitchell) has a run-in with Flo, Ted learns she’s a shire councillor and theorises Julian was bribing her to prevent the McQuillans from subdividing their land.
Meanwhile, Amanda tries to make amends for the tension she’s caused between Ted and Kelly by digging into the Claire Bingley case. She accepts an invitation for dinner with the family, including journalist Colin (Brett Tucker). Val (Angela Punch McGregor) arrives unexpectedly to share a bombshell in the murder case with Ted and Amanda. Julian may not be Raph’s biological father.
Ted (Thomas Jane) and Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) attend Julian’s (Andrew Buchanan) eccentric funeral armed with explosive knowledge about Raph’s parentage before preventing a potential tragedy at the local Crimson Lake races.
Convinced that Raph’s (Ethan Lwin) parentage gives Twist (Simon Lyndon) a motive for murder, Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) attempts to link his pickup truck to the tyre tracks at the Redemption Point murder scene. But when the tyres are not a match, with hopes dashed, she must broaden her search.
Keeping Raph’s parentage secret, Ted (Thomas Jane) and Amanda discover that Julian (Andrew Buchanan) opposed the McQuillans’ application to rezone their cane farm. Twist refuses to allow Sweeney (Zindzi Okenyo) to attend Julian’s funeral, and she calls on Amanda to be her eyes and ears at the celebration. After an emotionally charged service, Ted and Amanda eventually find the tyres that match the print from the clifftop dumped with no way to know which vehicle they came from.
Ted attends the Crimson Cup Race in an attempt to spend quality time with his family but is drawn away to prevent trouble when the distraught Max McQuillan (Robert Mammone) blames Councilwoman Flo Latham (Caroline O’Connor) for preventing the rezoning of his land.
While Ted and Kelly (Radha Mitchell) reconnect, Amanda reveals a secret to Twist in the worst possible way. And Brooke (Sara West) hooks up with Colin (Brett Tucker) but flees into the night after a shocking discovery.
After I watched first season, I thought it was a bit average and was surprised they commissioned a second season. I’m glad they did now. I’ve just watched the start of the second season and I think it’s really hitting its stride now. Can’t wait to see where it goes.
I think the problem with the first season was that protagonists struggled to connect and there was too much time exploring their past. Hopefully they will do a third season now featuring the third book in the trilogy.
When Brooke (Sara West) is found floating in a swampy river, strangled and barely conscious, Ted (Thomas Jane) and Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) hunt for her attacker to determine if Julian’s (Andrew Buchanan) murder case is connected.
When Brooke (Sara West) is found floating in a swampy river, strangled and barely conscious, old prejudices – and Brooke’s last text message – point to Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) as the culprit. Ted (Thomas Jane) defends her, but only Sweeney (Zindzi Okenyo) can clear Amanda’s name by providing the alibi for her whereabouts when Brooke was attacked.
Colin (Brett Tucker) maintains he and Brooke had a drink in his motel room, and then she left. The PIs discover Twist (Simon Lyndon) gave Brooke a lift just before she was dumped in the river, but it turns out that his DNA doesn’t match what is found under her fingernails.
When Brooke dies of her injuries, Amanda seeks solace from Sweeney but is distracted by a new lead in the Claire Bingley case. Learning Brooke was dealing duboisia, the PIs follow a clue to a dodgy boatyard, revealing who is involved in the drug trade and they discover a brand-new set of tyres on the thuggish boatyard owners’ pick-up.
Stealing the vehicle’s GPS, they locate the field of duboisia, and Amanda gives whoever is observing via the security cameras an ultimatum to reveal themself.
The case heats up for Ted and Amanda as they find a second crime scene where Julian (Andrew Buchanan) was murdered and land in the middle of Twist’s turf war with the duboisia kingpin.
Arriving at the drug field, Twist (Simon Lyndon) informs Ted (Thomas Jane) and Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) that growing duboisia plants isn’t illegal, and he didn’t kill his brother. Amanda is convinced that the tyres on the boatyard thugs’ pickup mean that at least one of them threw Julian (Andrew Buchanan) off the cliff. Ridiculing the idea, Twist sacks Ted and Amanda, who are shocked to learn Twist was their client for Julian’s murder, who did they think was funding Tayla (Miah Madden) to pay them?
Confronting Tayla, Ted discovers who is behind the drugs, while Amanda realises Colin (Brett Tucker) is possibly the last to see both Julian and Brooke (Sara West) alive.
Learning Julian had discovered the duboisia field before he died, Ted and Amanda trace a forest path from Family Tree to the drug field and find a second crime scene where Julian was murdered. They find a piece of a broken tail light, but it does not match the thugs’ pickup – they didn’t kill Julian.
While at the boatyard, the PIs discover Twist must have believed their theory about the thugs and he has extracted his twisted form of revenge on them.
Worried the drug kingpin will retaliate, Ted and Amanda fear for Raph’s (Ethan Lwin) safety. But before they can locate him, Amanda learns who attacked Claire Bingley and Ted is caught in the crossfire of Twist’s mess.
Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) rescues Ted (Thomas Jane), and alarmed by the identity of Claire Bingley’s assailant; he races home to find his house crawling with cops executing another search warrant.
Kelly (Radha Mitchell) reveals she found Claire Bingley’s bracelet planted in Lilly’s (Chloe Delle-Vedove) bedroom but has kept it from the police. She’s horrified when Ted reveals the person trying to frame him.
Meanwhile, Amanda finds Twist (Simon Lyndon) in a bind. Raph’s (Ethan Lwin) been kidnapped and is being used by the drug kingpin to force a trade with Twist. Amanda is faced with helping her nemesis to save the innocent young man.
While Sweeney (Zindzi Okenyo) arrests Brooke’s (Sara West) killer, Amanda and Ted help Raph reach safety as Twist hands himself to Khalid (Arka Das) and a likely death. Discovering a final clue, the PIs identify who’s responsible for Julian’s (Andrew Buchanan) death.
At the end of the eventful day, Ted returns home only to find his wife and daughter in the clutches of a man who has had Ted in his crosshairs for years. Can Ted save his family from this deranged predator?
