Cardiologists Peter Taggart and Pier Lambiase have been studying how emotions alter the conductive properties of individual heart cells. Mental stress changes the recovery period of heart cells after each heartbeat, called the action potential duration. Taggart co-authored a study in which patients whose hearts were paced at a steady rate watch the harrowing “cut the rope” scene from Vertical Limit (2000). The patients’ action potential duration shortened under the stress. This may explain how more extreme stress coupled with underlying cardiac disease could precipitate life-threatening arrhythmias. Mike finds himself investigating the remains of a baby's skeleton found in the attic of local butcher Don Lomax, after his family found them following his wife's funeral, and soon questions whether it may be linked to the sudden arrival of Lomax's eldest daughter Vera, who had been in an institution for several years. Greengrass attempts to turn wild rabbits into a fictional rare breed to sell at pet stores, until his scheme is washed out literally by a careful shopkeeper. A music manager is found dead the day after holding his wedding reception at the Aidensfield Arms. Blaketon and Dawn uncover a plot involving his bride and her mother, a leukaemia diagnosis, and his memoirs. Meanwhile, Peggy is caught with stolen property, feigns amnesia and is hospitalised. Younger is tipped to a series of upcoming crimes by Wetherby's young son, who disappears. Earlier in his career he was known for his role as Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister, a part he played for four years. The male co-owners of a new restaurant in Ashfordly find their new business targeted with sabotage that causes them grief, but when Mike investigates he soon discovers a connection between the men and the recent arrival of Gina's friend to the area. Greengrass decides to go searching for a fortune in Anglo-Saxon relics from a local man's land, but soon worries that he has uncovered a murder. Maggie makes a decision regarding the future for her unborn child.

The actor had a long 60 year career in the showbiz industry and is said to have made millions after first appearing on screen in 1955 in Great Scott, It’s Maynard. Music moves us in part because it draws on our primal intuitions about the heartbeat. Until the mid-19th century when it was replaced by the mechanical metronome, the human heartbeat provided the standard unit of measure for musical time. In his 1496 treatise, the Practica Musicae, the composer-theorist Franchinus Gaffurius wrote that the proper measure of the musical beat should be the pulse of a healthy human, noting that the pulses of “fevered persons” undergo an increase or become unequal in ways that worry physicians. A man claims to be a local farmer who had suffered amnesia during a London air raid in the 1940s and was presumed dead. He tries to resume his life, though his wife has married an ill and abusive man, who seems to know more about the circumstances of his rival's disappearance. Meanwhile, Lord Ashfordly's displays strange behaviour after consuming Peggy's peculiar batch of mushrooms. Younger asks Rosie for driving lessons to prepare for an official police course, and she is horrified when rumours spread of their presumed romance. Local troublemaker Gary Tyler, who currently has a suspended sentence, is shot by Lord Ashfordly's estate manager after trespassing on his land, forcing Mike to investigate what Tyler was doing there and discovering another person is involved. Greengrass offers to help a local reporter out when they run out of petrol and gets the chance to write their own weekly column in the local newspaper, but his plans to voice his own opinions on people don't work out well.

On The Go

PC Bradley and Sgt. Merton suspect a local farmer of being involved in a spate of tractor thefts for an insurance dealer, as part of an elaborate insurance scheme. However, when his actions are found out by his wife, whose health has been poorly, their already difficult marriage turns into a volatile domestic situation that soon endangers both herself and Dr. Summerbee. Meanwhile, Vernon starts a landscape gardening business, but resents allowing David to help source the materials for their first job. David has a telephone installed, but new neighbour Edith Fairley is constantly engaging the two-party line, much to the chagrin of Vernon. When her ex-husband comes looking for her, Vernon offers to help if it means he can get calls for his new taxi business. Local criminal Harry North arrives with a friend and their girlfriend, who soon cause trouble, leading Mike to be creative in their capture. Gina rejects Phil's marriage proposal, leading him to rethink his priorities. An insurance salesman is shot dead outside his home, and a disgruntled customer of the victim is the initial suspect in the crime. As Ashfordly police handle the investigation, PC Mason discovers that not only did the victim sell fraudulent policies, but he also led a complicated double life, and soon discovers that the latter may have been found out by one of the wives he had. Meanwhile, Ventress stays at the Aidensfield Arms while his house is being repaired, causing problems for all, while Sgt. Miller and Peggy both attempt to stop a war hero from drinking himself to death while on hard times. The role introduced him to a whole new audience as the nostalgic police drama became a TV sensation. After the series came to an end, Derek had roles in other TV shows like Casualty and Doctors.

The Ashfordly team reopen an eleven-year-old unsolved case when a compulsive liar with mental health issues confesses to the murder of a young girl. However, a search for the victim's body uncovers a male skeleton. Rob and Helen try to protect the suspect and his mother from a campaign of abuse. Meanwhile, Peggy sets her sight on a boorish widower, providing amusement for Gina but not for a close friend of the man. David becomes a local hero for intervening in an armed robbery at a dinner party, and his newfound celebrity status affects his work. Bellamy and Shiner find the stolen items in a crashed car, concluding that the robbers were amateurs. However, they soon reconsider when the police station is subsequently raided for the stolen jewels. Meanwhile, Ben Norton asks Liz to marry him and move to Kenya. Jenny is aghast at the thought of losing her best friend, leaving the village doctor with a difficult choice. Helen is suspected of euthanasia when one of her patients suddenly dies, and Rob's desperate need to clear her name nearly exposes their affair. Meanwhile, Peggy and David start a strawberry scam involving Rosie's two brothers, providing Younger with his first independent investigation.

Release

Merton's police work has consequences for his marriage when he has to investigate Liz and his own wife after a former car racing driver dies from an insulin overdose. Vernon more than meets his match in a charismatic promoter of a pyramid selling scheme, who enrols Vernon to embark on a mission to make Aidensfield sparkle with a new brand of cleaning products.