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Private Notes
In just 24 hours, corporate lawyer Laura Gibson's life is decimated. She is passed up for partnership, her son is expelled and she almost kills the family cat before discovering her husband has been arrested for fraud, squandering their life savings in the process...not to mention sleeping with her sister. Desperate to escape her life, Laura accepts a job as magistrate of a small coastal town she has fond - ten year old - memories of. Packing her kids in the station wagon, Laura heads to Pearl Bay only to find a half collapsed connecting bridge and laconic local, Diver Dan. On belated arrival, Laura discovers the solitude beach house she bought based on memory is now a dilapidated shack in the middle of a caravan park. Yet, staring out across the spectacular view from her new home, Laura decides maybe Pearl Bay is worth a chance
Laura wishes her first days in Pearl Bay could be as idylic as the scenery. As the kids struggle to survive with no television and Laura's cooking, a lunch invitation to the Jelly house seems like a welcome distraction. But Bob Jelly's motive is soon evident. Over Heather Jelly's fastidiously prepared lunch, Bob is sure to let Laura know how much power he has over the townsfolk, including her predecessor, renowned drunk Harold Fitzwalter. It is Harold's botched revenge plot against Bob that surfaces as Laura's first case. As Laura struggles with the ethical implications of the trial, her court clerk seems more interested in the surf report. The police prosecutor, Karen is no help either, busy planning her fantasy wedding to Angus. The only thing distracting Laura from her professional crisis is the alluring Diver Dan, a handsome renaissance man who represents everything she is not - a relaxed, scruffy person who can cook
Carmen, Meredith's free spirited niece breezes into town and quickly confides in her aunt that she is both pregnant and on the run from the law. Meredith purposely presses charges against her niece, a ploy to keep her and the unborn baby close. Three chefs storm into town to testify against Carmen, who posed as a restaurant critic in order to obtain free meals. Sympathy for the chefs is lost as they immediately criticise the culinary expertise of the locals. Feeling a little insecure in the kitchen herself, Laura approaches Diver for a few cooking lessons. Miranda approaches Dan as well, earning herself a job in his makeshift cafe after a Carmen inspired decision to quit school. When Miranda announces she is funding a move back to the city to live with her Dad, Laura is forced to show her vulnerability.
Sergeant Grey is suspicious of local 'saint' Matthew Reily who founded and mysteriously funds a youth training farm for the long time unemployed. Desperate to get anything on him, Grey charges Matthew with driving without a licence...for the fourth time. Bob, in his new quest to become a senator for the 'Here and Now' party decides he will take a sojourn out to Matthew's farm...with a small camera crew. In the presence of the cameras, Matthew is extremely cagey and when he stands before Laura he risks more than a fine. Laura's hands are full enough with Jack breaching his parole for Rupert's birthday. Rupert is miffed with his mother's treatment of the situation but they reconnect when they kick butt in the local pool competition
In times gone by Diver Dan, Angus and other local men formed a syndicate to share the cost of an Armani suit they could call upon for formal occasions. The arrangement had gone without incident until Laura's sister, Trudi, arrives in town. Suddenly, time honoured friendships are tested as the men battle with an impossibly tight suit allocation timetable in order to impress the new girl in town. Aside from causing havoc amongst the syndicate, the real purpose of Trudi's visit is to patch things up with Laura. In public it appears as if Trudi's plan has been successful but behind closed doors, Laura has no difficulty expressing her anger. Family drama is a common theme as Laura sits on a case involving Grey's daughter. As the case unfolds, Grey's most private secrets are revealed, silencing town gossip.
A big night out on the town results in a car flying off Pearl Bay's condemned bridge. Several of the locals are under suspicion until Grey points the finger at Reg, the local garbage collector with a drinking problem. If Laura sentences such a popular local, she risks alienation and when she isn't invited to a Jelly bash, she decides it is time she conformed with the local women. Not surprisingly, frocks and the ladies' reading circle don't suit her style. Bob suffers his own identity crisis, feeling financial and status pressures...he needs a plan - fast. In the meantime, he throws his support behind Reg, gaining more momentum against Laura. With Miranda's desire to sunbath nude compounding her problems, Laura approaches breakdown before finding a unique release of her own...pity she chose to do it in front of Diver's boatshed.
Just as Laura decides it is time to move things forward with Diver Dan, his gym fit bomb of an ex-wife pounces into town. Dorothy is sassy, sexy and suing Bob Jelly. Bob's indiscretion ruined her employment prospects in Port Deakin. During the case, Laura finds it hard to repress her competitiveness. As the trial progresses, it becomes clear that Dorothy may be forced to reveal something that will not only compromise her reputation...but Dan's as well. A kangaroo court develops in the Tropical Star saving Diver the embarrassment but still hitting Bob where it hurts - the wallet.
An invitation to the annual magistrate's dinner dance confirms Laura's suspicion that she is single in a world designed for couples. At least it encourages her to invite Diver. Laura's ego is battered when Dan surrenders himself with a pile of unpaid fines, choosing a jail sentence over a date with her. Dan is checkmated when instead of imprisonment, Laura sentences him to the cruelest of community services - filing in her office. Disturbingly, beneath Diver's rough exterior lurks a highly organised individual. Karen questions how well she knows her parents when they return as born again hippies, more willing to chat to Angus about surfing than grandchildren. Karen is further horrified when her father turns himself in for a past crime, leaving Laura baffled as to why the town's men are trying so hard to get into jail rather than staying out of it.
Pearl Bay is rocked by the death of one its teenagers. Laura presides over her first coronial inquest as football hero, Jerome Hall's, last hours are relived. After Jerome's accident, Rupert withdraws. Dan takes the boy under his wing, deciding he should teach Rupert how to be a man, applying what his own father taught him. Laura is furious to discover Dan's somewhat violent interpretation of masculinity. Affected by unearthed memories of his father, Dan drinks himself into a lather, waking the next morning with a certain remorse. Without telling Laura, Dan takes Rupert on a secret night time adventure and gently draws out what has been troubling him.
According to Carmen, local 'parking' spot, Brabey Point is such a place where a strong tantric nexus is formed between lines of male and female energies...in other words its a place where people get it on. When an old crony of Bob's proposes a housing development at the famous site, a protest ensue. By pure coincidence, Craig emerges as hero activist, impressing Miranda immensely. The attention and thrill of standing up to his father causes Craig to re-evaluate his surroundings for the first time. While Heather tries to understand her son's actions Bob focuses on clearing Craig's name to avoid embarrassment and move the development along. Laura can't help but be curious about Brabey Point's properties, a curiosity that proves impossible to resist when Diver reveals he's not sure he could fight the power of the Point...if only they could both be there at the same time...
Instead of the usual musical extravaganza, this year's Pearl Bay Thespians production is a play penned by Harold with Meredith at the helm. After years in the wings, Heather is cast as the leading lady opposite visiting professional and old flame, Barry Boston. Bob immediately presumes an affair is taking place. Unlike Bob, Laura is keen to maintain her dignity and calls upon the help of Dan to save her from the show. Apart from working overtime as Laura's bad acting coach, wounds from Diver's past are re-opened when he discovers a friend's violent domestic situation. While Harold's play pays tribute to the law, Dan and Laura come into conflict over the justice of the legal system.
Jack's fraud trial is finally being heard and the kids convince Laura support him in person. Back in the city, unexpected sparks fly between Laura and Jack and just as she is offered a spanking new job. As Laura ponders over her future, Phrani tries to fortell other people's as part of her special Tax Return package. Disturbed by Heather's recent bizarre behaviour Bob blames Phrani for encouraging her to continue with it. Kevin is also in need of Phrani's support when his de facto, Lucy, is released from prison. Unable to cope back in the real world, Lucy sends herself back to jail as Laura, too, must decide if she wants to return to the 'real world' or stay by the sea.
The locals brace themselves to be reconnected with the outside world as Bob proudly awaits the opening of the repaired bridge. Carmen too, waits. Her baby is due to arrive, but doesn't seem ready to make an appearance, leaving the intuitive Carmen sure something has gone horribly wrong. The reason for Heather's odd behaviour becomes apparent as Meredith and Harold wait anxiously to meet their baby - forty years on. Laura and Dan decide to put an end to their cat and mouse game and consummate their mutual attraction. Only something major - a bomb, a natural disaster could get in their way now. Cue wind, thunder, a brewing storm...
