Cheryl thinks that Marlene’s gone missing on purpose because of what she said about Bianca. Karl warns Cody that studying medicine is going to be tough. Shane takes off, leaving Helen and Marlene stranded. Marlene blames Helen for their predicament.

At number 26, Philip comes in with the washing and mentions that it must be great for Rick, having his birthday on Valentine’s Day. Cody says that Rick comments every year that he gets a few birthday cards and stacks of Valentines. She announces that she needs to do some study for her first anatomy class the next day and Phil looks at some of his clothes and wonders if they’ve shrunk. Cody tells Phil that as people get older, their metabolism slows down, and he throws the washing at her.

..

At the Coffee Shop, Mark comes in, asking for an orange juice and an espresso to get him through the house painting. As Annalise gets the drinks, Mark mentions his holiday to the Whitsundays that he won at the pub and asks Sam if he’d like to join him on the trip. Sam says that he has a lot of work on at the moment and makes a quick getaway when Annalise returns. When Mark explains that Sam probably needs to rearrange his diary to make time for the holiday, Annalise laughs at the notion of Mark and Sam going away together, leaving Mark hurt.

At number 24, Bianca answers the door to Lou, who explains that he’s just come back from the art market, where they were looking for Marlene. He asks if he can speak to Bianca, apologising on Cheryl’s behalf for accusing her of the robberies. He explains that Cheryl’s not thinking straight and she even suspected Marlene of being the robber. He then tells Bianca and Sam about Cheryl’s theory that Marlene’s deliberately gone missing to get her own back. Sam says that he wouldn’t blame Marlene is she did.

..

Out in the middle of nowhere, Marlene is telling Helen that Shane didn’t just become a crook by accident, he was a victim of his environment. Helen says that they’re going to end up as victims of their environment if they’re not careful and stops Marlene from walking off to find help. Marlene hopes that someone will come along soon, but Helen isn’t convinced that she wants to be saved by the sort of people who travel along back roads.

At number 22, Cheryl is filling out the insurance forms, following the robbery. She says that they’ll be receiving a ransom note from Marlene any time now. Lou wonders why Helen would be going along with the plan, as she has nothing to gain from it, and Cheryl admits that she could be wrong about the whole thing. Lou answers a knock at the door and it’s Mark, asking Lou if he can come along as back-up for the holiday. Lou says that he has a lot on with the caryard, council and radio show, but he’ll keep it in mind.

..

Marlene and Helen are having a picnic by the car, and they both admit that things could be a lot worse. Marlene says that she’s lived in Ramsay Street for about six months, and has barely gotten to know Helen, so this is a good opportunity. She says that it’s fate, like finding Bianca in the back of the shop. Helen talks about Nick Page, who she took in years ago in a similar way and says that you always get something out of the situation if you put something into it.

At number 26, Cody finds Phil measuring the waistband on his pants, when there’s a knock at the door. It’s Mark, who wants to know if Phil has time for the Whitsundays trip. Lou then arrives too, and makes a comment to Phil about touring some of Queensland’s finest churches. They’re all concerned about Marlene and Helen, and Lou explains that the police can’t do anything until they’ve been missing for over 24 hours.

..

At number 24, Bianca is really worried about Marlene and Sam is trying to assure her that it isn’t completely unlike Marlene to disappear without warning. He promises her that if she isn’t back by morning, they can go out searching on the bike. She goes off to bed and he warns her not to worry.

The next morning, Marlene and Helen get out of the car after a terrible night’s sleep. They sit on the bonnet and Helen says that this isn’t doing her hip any good. Marlene accuses Helen of snoring all night, which annoys her and she then goes to try and find some food for breakfast, until Marlene says that there isn’t much left. She admits that she was kept awake and got hungry. Helen is annoyed, but Marlene reminds her that it’s her fault that Shane did a runner in the first place.

..

Cody arrives at the newsagency to see if there’s any news, but Phil says he wishes there was more they could do. He says that he’s tried to get Vikram to come in and cover, but can’t get in touch. Cody reassures him before running off to meet her friends. Lou then arrives to pick up some maps and Phil tells him that they’re on the house, as it’s the least he can do if he can’t help with the search.

At the Coffee Shop, Cody is having coffee with her new uni mates, Vince and Jen. Cody’s worried about how she’s going to get along, but Vince tells her that most of the class is straight out of year 12, so it isn’t going to be too difficult. Jen says that she and Vince are the only old folks attending, and Cody jokes that she’ll remember to get them a couple of walking sticks. Hamish then arrives, acting very secretively, and complains that his bus was late, then it broke down. They decide that they should be going if they don’t want to be late.

..

..

Helen and Marlene are sitting by the car, and Helen admits that she did a little research into bush tucker a few years back, and that they could probably survive for a few days on the vegetation around them. Marlene hopes that it doesn’t come to that. Just then, Sam and Bianca arrive on his bike, and Marlene and Helen are thrilled to see them.

At number 22, Lou is on the phone to the police, who are filling him in. Cheryl is worried, but Lou explains that Marlene and Helen are fine and Shane Rebecchi was the Ramsay Street burglar. He explains how they found this out and Cheryl feels terrible for being so mean about Marlene.

..

At number 24, Lou, Mark, Annalise and Phil are waiting to greet Helen and Marlene. They put out lots of food and Marlene jokes that they could have survived for weeks on Helen’s bush tucker. Lou announces that the police have arrested Shane. Mark then asks Sam if he’s thought about the trip, admitting that he doesn’t want to take someone from the church, as it might be boring. Sam says he kind of feels the same way.

At the uni, Cody, Jen, Vince and Hamish are gathered with their class, waiting for the tutor to arrive. They see the name Herman on the blackboard and wonder whether it’s a male or female tutor. Jen complains about the size of the textbook when Vince suddenly remembers where he knows Cody from. He tells her that she’s the spitting image of a guy called Willis Kennedy, from the cricket team. Cody bits her lip, and tells him how interesting that is.

..

At number 24, Cheryl is explaining how she wasn’t thinking straight when she accused Bianca and even admits to suspecting Marlene for a while. She says that her only excuse is that she was worried about Bianca leading Danni astray. Marlene accepts the apology, but tells Cheryl that she must still say sorry to Bianca. Marlene calls Bianca into the lounge room and Cheryl grudgingly apologises. Bianca tells her not to do it again, or she’ll sue the pants off her. Cheryl is astonished.

..

The tutor arrives at the uni class and gets everyone to sit down and be quiet. He asks if anyone has any questions, and Hamish is about to ask something when the tutor says that he forgot to introduce himself. He says that his name is Jim Ryan, then he goes to get Herman. Jen comments that Jim seemed quite laid back, but then Vince says that he’s not quite as laid back as Herman. Everyone is shocked to see that Herman is a cadaver. They all gather around the table and Jim pulls back the sheet to introduce them to Herman. Jen and Hamish reach out to grab Cody, as she faints.

Summary by Steve