There's a party at one of Thomas' club nights and all the gang are there; Cook is still up to no good, Freddie is learning increasingly more about love and the girls are busy dancing. An accident during the evening, however, leaves Thomas feeling guilty and alienated from the rest of the group. Will their friendship survive?

Emily and Naomi are caught up in the police investigation following the events of Episode 1. When Naomi lies to the police, Emily becomes suspicious and decides to investigate.

Cook is up on a charge of GBH. Despite multiple witnesses, he insists on pleading not guilty, to the frustration of his brief, Duncan. He’s granted bail but given an electronic tagging order and curfew to the house of his Mum. Mum is Ruth Byatt, a famous contemporary artist. Returning for the first time in a while, Cook is reunited with his younger half-brother Paddy, who idolizes him.

Katie Fitch has a problem. Katie’s family’s bankrupt, and they’ve got nowhere to live. And under the strain of it all, Jenna and Rob seem to be headed for splitsville and James Fitch is scared.

Freddie is loved up. Completely. He and Effy are enjoying their time together and carrying on their hedonistic ways with no thought of tomorrow. His father and sister never see him and neither do the rest of the gang. At College, he’s been threatened with expulsion if he doesn’t get his work in. He’s given a final warning by new teacher Mr T Love and the pressure’s on to fix things. Only thing is, Effy’s not on the same page and it’s Freddie she takes it out on. Freddie’s left to work out whether Effy’s worth fighting for this time. As everything starts to unravel, he’s in a race against time to fix what’s most important to him.

JJ is in love. Lara Lloyd is sweet perfection and he’s smitten. But JJ thinks she’s way out of his league and lacks the courage to ask her out. Thomas tells him he should make a move, and if he doesn’t, he will. So JJ plucks up the courage…

Effy has been in a psychiatric hospital recovering since she tried to take her own life. After lots of sessions with her counsellor John Foster, he tells her she is ready to go back home. Effy is worried she could slip back into her previous state, but John assures her that as long as she is disciplined she will be ok, and she will still visit him for sessions.

With their A-level results in for most of the gang, thoughts about the past and the future are on their minds.