Stephen Ballantyne

Five different people at different times of their lives bond at a wedding after being seated together at the singles table. After a few too many drinks, the solution to all of their problems seems to be buying a five-bedroom house together.

Dr Lucien Blake left Ballarat as a young man. But now he finds himself returning to take over not only his dead father's medical practice, but also his on-call role as the town's police surgeon, only to find change is afoot, nothing is sacred, and no one is safe.

Frances O'Brian, Head Librarian, is having a hellish time of it. And for once it's not all of her making. Frances' mother, suffering from both dementia and a really horrible personality, lands on the O'Brien doorstep. Adding to her woes, morale at the Middleton Interactive Learning Centre is at a new all time low. In order to stay open, the library is forced to run as a business and return an annual profit. As the staff has a hard enough time enforcing the return of a book, this latest initiative could spell the end of the library.