As summer draws to a close in Poplar, the pupil midwives are coming to the end of their training on the district, and prepare to sit their final exams and viva. Joyce is a methodical planner and can keep calm under fire, but Rosalind is becoming more and more anxious. It takes an unusual intervention by Nurse Crane and a sensitive case to see Rosalind put her nerves behind her.
When two little boys are found abandoned in the local church, triggering a nationwide hunt for their mother, Cyril, as child welfare officer, is faced with his toughest challenge to date. When their heavily pregnant mother is found, Cyril must make the difficult decision of whether the children will be taken into foster care.
Matthew's financial woes come to a head when he is summoned to a board meeting with his mother about the state of the business. Following a number of unwise business decisions and investments, that almost bring the company to its knees, it's time Matthew finally comes clean with Trixie.
Elsewhere, Dr Turner is alarmed by local moneylender and matriarch Gladys Bell's swollen ascetic abdomen. He promptly refers her to St Cuthbert's, where a biopsy diagnoses mesothelioma of the peritoneum - an asbestos-related cancer in its advanced stages. When Gladys refuses treatment, an unlikely ally gives her food for thought.
Meanwhile, Sister Veronica and Shelagh spearhead a summer singing event.
