- A fair is held in aid of church funds and members of Patterson Ridge all make donations. When a hand-written love poem is found in a second hand book, gossip around town is rife as everyone tries to work out who wrote the poem.
- When a group of unemployed Chinese labourers arrive at Patterson's Ridge, Colin leads the town in helping them. But a visiting church administrator causes him trouble and Colin's future is placed in jeopardy when his superior strips him of his ministry.
- Paterson's Ridge is preparing for the annual charity sale, in which everyone donates belongings in aid of the town's church. Danni ("Kristie Raymond") mistakenly puts a volume of Shakespeare's love sonnets belonging to Herbert Elliott ("Greg Parker") into the sale, and when the error is discovered, Herbert seems strangely desperate to get the book back. The reason is revealed when Matt ("Andrew Clarke") and Kathleen ("Wendy Hughes") discover a number of handwritten romantic poems inside the book, apparently with a local mystery woman as the author's muse. This provokes a conversation between the newly-weds about the level of romance in their own lives.
When Josh - ("Daniel Daperis") becomes distressed after mistaking a puppy in the street for his own dog, Banjo, who ran away after the fire which killed his family, Colin ("Brett Climo") and Emily ("Sheryl Munks") realise that the boy is still haunted by his tragic past. The couple resolve to get Josh a new pet to keep him focused on the present. However, Josh is convinced that the dog he sees with another small boy is his own lost pet, and consequently steals the animal, much to the shock and embarrassment of his foster parents. Nevertheless, they keep their promise and get him a puppy of his own, but the boy is still unhappy that his new best friend is no substitute for his beloved Banjo.
Matt and Kathleen win a weekend for two at the local hotel, and decide, after their talk about romance, to make the break into the honeymoon they never had. Whilst at the hotel, they are visited by an agitated Herbert, who has come to ask for their help in tracking down his book of poems. The book is returned to him, but Kathleen confesses that she has published one of his poems in her newspaper, and tells him that everyone will soon be speculating about the identity of its subject: the 'lady of the mountains.' Sure enough, the entire town is quickly full of gossip on the matter, with everyone having their own theories. Danni believes that the poems are about Montana, and wonders how Rob will react to having competition. She then betrays a confidence by telling Montana both that she is the poem's subject, and that Herbert is the author. Montana being a direct kind of woman, confronts Herbert on the matter. Herbert tells her that Rob had asked him to write the verses on his behalf, and Montana surprises him by telling him that this was a waste of time, as there is nothing between her and the youngest McGregor son.
Herbert tells Kathleen that the poems were indeed about Montana, and confesses that he does have feelings for her, and that the American girl's denial of a relationship with Rob gives him hope that there might be hope for his own romantic aspirations after all...until another frank exchange with Montana puts him straight. Ultimately, he discovers that there is another young woman in the town who might be a better match for him; someone who just happens to be attracted to him too.
Josh finally warms to his new dog, and names him Patch, and the two quickly become inseparable, a fact made very evident when Colin tries putting the pup outside for the night. It is clear that despite Colin's intention for the dog to become a working animal, Patch and Josh have other plans.
Matt and Kathleen's romantic break turns out to be anything but, as constant interruptions spoil their time together, but in the end they find a way to be alone.
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