S1 • E1
Rita Tyler,a school teacher,is knocked off her bicycle and killed by a police car during a high speed chase,leaving her photographer husband Dave to look after their three children and Lucy,her 15-year old daughter from her first marriage. He is angry,suicidally driving his motor bike at dangerous speeds in the rain and almost coming a cropper himself. In the weeks following the death he finds himself at odds with Lucy,who is skipping school and who sets out to find her birth father. Despite help from Anna,Rita's adopted sister, and her solicitor husband Robin,the person to whom Dave feels closest is Rita's best friend Sarah and,even though she has a boy-friend,they end up in a passionate embrace.
S1 • E2
Dave finds his kiss with Sarah hard to get out of his head,even dreaming about it. However there are more pressing matters as he rows with Anna,later making up,for giving the kids mobile phones,and discusses with mother-in-law Beatty the need to track down Lucy's natural father. From Rita's old university diaries he locates him as being Stuart Pike,who,in fact,knew about Lucy as Rita kept in touch with him. But he is still occupied with Sarah and they go to bed together when all his children except little Evie are with his ex-wife Michelle. However Evie sees them together.
S1 • E3
Dave and Sarah wonder how much Evie saw and whether she will tell anybody. Dave goes to Edinburgh to see Stuart and visits his affluent family home. Stuart is a lawyer and believes he can get better compensation from the police for Rita's death than brother-in-law Robin,who agrees. Stuart's attitude towards Rita is very casual and a paranoid Dave wonders whether Stuart may be the father of more of Rita's children than one and considers a paternity test. He takes Lucy to meet Stuart in Edinburgh,and Sarah turns up. She has finished with Matt.
S1 • E4
Following the inquest Dave is due his compensation but seeing footage of Rita's last ride and learning that Stuart wants to adopt Lucy makes him feel he should put the kids' welfare above his relationship with Sarah. This is compounded after Warren,finding out about the affair,sleeps with Dave's daughter Tanya out of revenge and tells her everything. Tanya then confronts her father in front of the other kids and Sarah,who leaves,at Dave's request. Sarah disappears and Dave begins to see how much she means to him. Learning that she has resigned from her teaching job he packs the kids - who all want her to come back - into the car and tracks her down. She is pregnant but,as he tells her,he loves babies and,egged on by his kids,asks her to be part of his family.
Dave
Sarah
Evie
Paul
Ewan
Anna
Matt
Lucy
Robin
Tanya