Blake returns from China, and finds himself thrown straight into a murder investigation: the newly elected Mayor of Ballarat is found dead at the bottom of the Town Hall steps. But threads of betrayal, adultery and double-dealing lead him to some high and low places, and Jean - kept in the dark - worries for him.
Doctor Blake must unravel the mystery of the death of an up-and-coming rock’n’roll star, stabbed after a sell-out hometown performance. While Blake investigates, Lawson must try to keep the peace as the town is divided, and Danny encounters feisty young almoner Rose.
When the body of a well-dressed man is found dead on a picnic blanket in Ballarat’s botanical gardens, Blake determines the cause of death as cyanide poisoning. But when attempts to identify the man fail, Blake is left to rely on a mysterious clue trail to attempt to uncover the identity of his killer.
Pedestrians walk Lydiard Street on a busy Saturday night and are horrified to discover a man has fallen from the Colonists’ Club and landed on the footpath in front of them. After surveying the balcony Blake realises the railing is too high for this ‘fall’ to be an accident. Meanwhile Lawson is caught up in a hit-and-run involving one of his officers. The only clue linking both incidents is a pouch of brandless tobacco.
Jean watches as a fire breaks out in the cinema projection room. It spreads and kills the projectionist. Dr Blake stumbles on something even murkier as he investigates the flames.
A coffin is dropped at a funeral, but there are two bodies instead of one. Blake's latest investigation takes him to an unsuspecting criminal underworld.
Craig McLachlan
Doctor Lucien Blake
Nadine Garner
Jean Beazley
Rick Donald
Danny Parks
Cate Wolfe
Mattie O'Brien
Joel Tobeck
Matthew Lawson