Greig, Carver and Tosh arrest a man for burglary and drugs. Burnside recuits him as a snout and Operation Middleman is on. The operation to bust a crack house appears to be a stitch up for both Burnside and the suspects arrested. There is animosity between Burnside and the D.I. from the Drugs Squad.

Burnside is not happy about Wray talking to his snout. Wray interviews the suspect at Barton Street but he won't talk in the station. While in hospital he tells Burnside that the snout is being protected by a sgt. from Barton Street. Conway thinks the leak must be in CID. Frank thinks the snout stitched him up. Wray tells burnside he has been promoted and will be stationed at Sunhill.

Recovering in hospital, Roach agrees to tell Carver everything he knows about Mickey Owen, but asks that the police protect his long-time friend and former informant, Roxanne, from Mickey's clutches. Meanwhile, as investigations continue, Lennox discovers that the body is that of Phillip Macey, one of Roxanne's best friends, who disappeared without trace in the 1990s after a gig at The Pink Cockatoo. Realising that Owen must have been responsible for his death, Roxanne agrees to help Meadows set up a sting operation to catch Owen in the act. Roach's old-school police methods begin to yield results, much to the delight of Carver, but before they can catch Mickey red-handed, tragedy strikes.