Plot

A murder in the hospital leads Blake into a maze of sexual politics and revenge.

When a surgeon is found dead on the operating table at Ballarat Hospital, Blake is drawn into a maze of sexual politics and revenge. But as the clues mount up, Blake finds himself undermined by Chief Superintendent Munro, who has an agenda of his own. Meanwhile, Jean faces her own dilemma. The consequences of her decision will be far-reaching, but Blake is too busy fighting his many battles to notice.

A woman in pain is rushed to the hospital by ambulance, early in the morning. When they reach the operating room, an administrator stops them, after the nurse Glenda Lambert entered to ready for the patient, seeing a dead man on the table of the operating room, his blood run into a basin beneath his head. The dead man is Doctor Orton, a surgeon at the hospital. Blake goes to the cemetery that morning to put flowers on his mother's grave. When he returns, Jean tells him her granddaughter Amelia Jean is born, and that he is called to work. Munro listens to Blake describe the dead man, and then Munro insists on being present while Blake and Dr Alice Harvey perform the autopsy, which makes Dr Harvey uncomfortable. Blake notes the use of the outdated scalpel used to cut the man's blood vessels. He notes also that he had been intimate with a woman shortly before his death. Orton was separated from his wife because of an affair with a nurse. The administrator, Malcolm Beaufort, holds a very low opinion of nurses, there only for the sexual whims of doctors, and thinks nurse Lambert is a suspect. Blake and Harvey are present when Mrs Orton comes to identify her husband's body. After she leaves, Harvey points out the odor on Orton's clothing, indicating that a particular anesthetic was used before the killing, further pointing to a person trained in medical procedures. Dr Caxton appears at Blake's office, and he needs surgery for intestinal blockage. At the hospital, there are no doctors, so Blake does the surgery, assisted by Glenda Lambert, with a successful outcome. Later that evening, Dr Harvey calls Mrs Orton to tell her what Dr Orton did to her when he was alive, coming on to her sexually after he was told no. When Dr Harvey complained to the hospital, she was put on notice, not Dr Orton. Dr Orton had other enemies, including the local veterinarian Ron Caxton, whose wife died on Orton's table, and the hospital administrator, a would-be doctor who could not face surgery. Munro is harsh in interrogations, particularly when he decides to interrogate Dr Harvey with Blake present. Munro tells Sergeant Charlie Davis that Blake's daughter is in Communist China and he visited her there, putting his name on confidential lists. Davis tells Blake about this in an encounter with a very tense Blake. He sees how Munro is getting at people who are friends of his, considered too loyal by Munro. Blake receives a letter from his daughter, asking why she has not heard from him. Blake has written to her, sent her money, but his daughter received none of it, which angers him. Blake does a bit of re-enactment of the scene of the dead man, with Mattie and Jean. He and Mattie go to the hospital, where Blake learns from the administrator about the ambulance men bringing in the woman with the broken leg. He clicks, and sets up a way to expose the killer. Mattie walks around in many spots in the hospital, in her nurse uniform, until one of the ambulance men, Lachlan Kennedy, comes on to her offensively. The other one, Rowley Grant, acts to protect Mattie, but goes too far, beating up his partner. Blake and Davis are there, and Davis arrests Grant. Dr Harvey stops the process to ask, did you murder the doctor to defend me? Grant says yes, and she tells him it was too much; adults cannot blame their actions on a bad childhood. Blake meets with Munro where he gives his resignation in trade for Munro erasing the charge against Dr Harvey, promising a written resignation in the morning, which satisfies Munro. Blake and Harvey are at the cemetery, as he is not satisfied with what he has heard about the cause of his mother's death and has been turned down on his exhumation request. Dr Harvey contemplates how they might start to learn the possibilities without exhumation, and thanks Blake as the hospital is re-examining her complaint. Back at home, Jean explains how Christopher wants her to come help them with the baby; Blake answers the door, to see Superintendent Matthew Lawson in full uniform, who says, I hear you resigned, is it in writing? Lawson is pleased that it is not, as he will need Blake.

A woman in pain is rushed to the hospital by ambulance, early in the morning. When they reach the operating room, an administrator stops them, after the nurse Glenda Lambert entered to ready for the patient, seeing a dead man on the table of the operating room, his blood run into a basin beneath his head. The dead man is Doctor Orton, a surgeon at the hospital. Blake goes to the cemetery that morning to put flowers on his mother's grave. When he returns, Jean tells him her granddaughter Amelia Jean is born, and that he is called to work. Munro listens to Blake describe the dead man, and then Munro insists on being present while Blake and Dr Alice Harvey perform the autopsy, which makes Dr Harvey uncomfortable. Blake notes the use of the outdated scalpel used to cut the man's blood vessels. He notes also that he had been intimate with a woman shortly before his death. Orton was separated from his wife because of an affair with a nurse. The administrator, Malcolm Beaufort, holds a very low opinion of nurses, there only for the sexual whims of doctors, and thinks nurse Lambert is a suspect. Blake and Harvey are present when Mrs Orton comes to identify her husband's body. After she leaves, Harvey points out the odor on Orton's clothing, indicating that a particular anesthetic was used before the killing, further pointing to a person trained in medical procedures. Dr Caxton appears at Blake's office, and he needs surgery for intestinal blockage. At the hospital, there are no doctors, so Blake does the surgery, assisted by Glenda Lambert, with a successful outcome. Later that evening, Dr Harvey calls Mrs Orton to tell her what Dr Orton did to her when he was alive, coming on to her sexually after he was told no. When Dr Harvey complained to the hospital, she was put on notice, not Dr Orton. Dr Orton had other enemies, including the local veterinarian Ron Caxton, whose wife died on Orton's table, and the hospital administrator, a would-be doctor who could not face surgery. Munro is harsh in interrogations, particularly when he decides to interrogate Dr Harvey with Blake present. Munro tells Sergeant Charlie Davis that Blake's daughter is in Communist China and he visited her there, putting his name on confidential lists. Davis tells Blake about this in an encounter with a very tense Blake. He sees how Munro is getting at people who are friends of his, considered too loyal by Munro. Blake receives a letter from his daughter, asking why she has not heard from him. Blake has written to her, sent her money, but his daughter received none of it, which angers him. Blake does a bit of re-enactment of the scene of the dead man, with Mattie and Jean. He and Mattie go to the hospital, where Blake learns from the administrator about the ambulance men bringing in the woman with the broken leg. He clicks, and sets up a way to expose the killer. Mattie walks around in many spots in the hospital, in her nurse uniform, until one of the ambulance men, Lachlan Kennedy, comes on to her offensively. The other one, Rowley Grant, acts to protect Mattie, but goes too far, beating up his partner. Blake and Davis are there, and Davis arrests Grant. Dr Harvey stops the process to ask, did you murder the doctor to defend me? Grant says yes, and she tells him it was too much; adults cannot blame their actions on a bad childhood. Blake meets with Munro where he gives his resignation in trade for Munro erasing the charge against Dr Harvey, promising a written resignation in the morning, which satisfies Munro. Blake and Harvey are at the cemetery, as he is not satisfied with what he has heard about the cause of his mother's death and has been turned down on his exhumation request. Dr Harvey contemplates how they might start to learn the possibilities without exhumation, and thanks Blake as the hospital is re-examining her complaint. Back at home, Jean explains how Christopher wants her to come help them with the baby; Blake answers the door, to see Superintendent Matthew Lawson in full uniform, who says, I hear you resigned, is it in writing? Lawson is pleased that it is not, as he will need Blake.