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

Amanda and Alastair continue their affair as Amanda fights Kieran for everything he's got. However, Amanda is not pleased that Kieran isn't fighting her back and giving in which causes severe tension in the Macefield home and ends up causing Sascha to go on a drink bender at a party. After Kieran sees what the divorce is doing to his kids he decides to fight and offers her 60/40 of the property and joint custody. Amanda decides to move to Auckland with Taylor and as she prepares to leave she tells Nicky what she thinks of her. As a parting gesture to Kieran she torches his new vineyard and leaves Alastair to wait at their motel room. Elsewhere, Ken asks Dana out on their first date together but it doesn't work out very well as he's called to an emergency rescue of a toddler and subsequent tries at dates always end with an emergency.