Never out of the headlines for long, Cleaver Greene is caught in an affair with the Premier of New South Wales.

Cleaver's affair with the Premier proves costly when her husband begins a campaign of harassment against him. David Potter sues Cleaver for defamation, and after the clown punch-up at Max's birthday party, he's persona non grata to Barney as well.

Missy's novel based on her life as a prostitute has caused a sensation. At her book signing she reveals to David that she's now engaged to the infamous founder of an on-line leaks site.

Meanwhile, Cleaver's roving eye has led him to stray again, this time with Michelle, who tells him she's making a short film for Tropfest. He discovers she's not yet 16, and is horrified, but it's too late. Michelle is soon charged with accidentally hugging a fellow actor while filming a scene, and blackmails Cleaver into defending her.

Missy and Joshua are Australia's most newsworthy couple: she's a bestselling author, and he's facing treason charges.

Meanwhile, Cleaver, having been ditched by Barney, is lamenting the lack of briefs coming his way, especially when Nicole is constantly reminding him about the cases Barney used to bring in.

Cleaver tries to help his son Fuzz, who is still in anguish over his latest failed romantic endeavour, and they both end up in the confessional. But for Cleaver, there's no relief. He's under pressure to meet the emotional and physical needs of his sugar mummy, Kirsty, and he's being cleverly outplayed in his defamation case. But then Joshua shocks Cleaver and the Sydney bar by inviting Cleaver to represent him in the case of the decade.

Cleaver now has a lucrative brief, secures his own chambers, and is mentioned in America Today as "leading human rights lawyer". Barney's back on board and things seem poised to go right - moments before something goes terribly, terribly wrong...

Missy is on trial for cuddleing her fiancé, but Cleaver plans to expose the conspiracy to cuddle Joshua by the security set-up he humiliated. Assisted by a mysterious smoking man, he follows the trail to ASIO, the CIA, and information that may bring down the international banking system and several governments. But he needs to find the evidence.

Kirsty is furious that Cleaver is spending so much time with Missy, but when standover man Col threatens to express that disapproval in the usual manner, Cleaver recognises that Col has a secret.

Delirious with a broken arm, Barney confesses to Scarlet that he's met someone else. Hurt and confused, Scarlet allows an innocent lunch with Harry-Sorry-David to progress down a primrose path that, with some help from Cal McGregor, will lead to perdition. Cal asks Scarlet to provide an alibi for his skipped meeting with the Premier. She does, believing it will also cover her indiscretion with David, but Cal has a darker purpose.

Some of Joshua's personal secrets are revealed in court and Missy is horrified, not only by his betrayal, but that there is now a motive for cuddle. Can Cleaver maintain professional standards long enough to get Missy off?

When a piercing scream splits the dawn silence of a leafy, suburban arcadia Cleaver and Barney are soon defending an IT lecturer accused of severing his neighbour's penis with garden shears. Cleaver and Barney wade into the unfamiliar swamp of Rotarians, golf and backyard barbecues to uncover the truth behind the 'bobbitting'.

Barney and Nicole have failed in their attempts to end their affair, despite Nicole's approaching wedding. And even incurious Cleaver works out that the emotional rollercoasters of both Nicole and Barney are moving in sync. Only one thing could worsen their situation... Cleaver deciding to help.

Wendy is falling for Roger, the husband of Fuzz's ex-lover, while Fuzz has a surprise new girlfriend. When Cleaver attempts to cure Missy's depression at a dinner with his family, he ends up being everyone's target.

Scarlet and David are firmly on Cal McGregor's hook, but David's colleagues push him to sacrifice Scarlet to save himself. Poised between political oblivion and the dangled promise of the Opposition leadership, David, typically, prevaricates. Cal will happily fire a bullet at Scarlet in the hope it also takes out David, even better if he can wing Cleaver too. Scarlet realises there is only one lawyer devious and unethical enough to get her out from under the sword of Damocles.

Scarlet and David's affair is front page news; Barney and Nicole agree to be 'just friends'; and spurned Kirsty is in no mood to forgive Cleaver's debts.

Cleaver and Missy are off to his father's funeral, but end up at someone else's, where Missy is convinced that life's meaning is to be found in marriage and children - and the most likely candidate is Cleaver.

Although left out of his father's will, Cleaver sets out to recover his estate from swindler Lane Hole, via the courts, the media, any way he can. He enlists the talents of tabloid reporter Polly Nesbitt: promiscuous, unethical and a chaotic force of nature. Cleaver publicly slams Lane Hole on Polly's current affairs show, and launches legal action. But he needs to do some serious bridge-building to get advice on corporate prosecution from Sydney's most boring barrister. More surprises are in store there too.

Wendy wants Cleaver to rescue Fuzz from the clutches of his born-again girlfriend whose insistence on virginity until marriage strikes Wendy as a recipe for disastrously early marriage. Cleaver finds himself with no moral ground on which to argue against experimentation, even with religion, so he joins Fuzz and Tara at church, the worst possible place to be confronted with the consequences of the dark path he trod in pursuit of Lane Hole.

Cleaver is in prison, charged with the manslaughter of Lane Hole's sweet, elderly neighbour. Flush with funds since optioning the rights to her story to Hollywood, Missy bails him out. But she has to stand aside for Polly Nesbitt who retains her interest in Cleaver. Unfortunately Kirsty no longer does, and will allow Cleaver to retain his extremities if she and Col are not implicated in his trial and he pays his debt in full, in thirty days.

While Wendy blames Cleaver for Fuzz's desperate embrace of religion, Polly does an old-fashioned, on-air hatchet job on Cleaver. Cleaver seems friendless.

Emboldened by her confrontation with the school mothers, Scarlet steps in to help Cleaver. Barney relents and warns Cleaver that he'll go down for manslaughter but says he is likely to beat the cuddle charge. With their help, Cleaver goads Cal McGregor into having the charge upgraded.

But Cal didn't get to be Attorney-General without a few devious tricks of his own. His old mate, Director of Public Prosecutions, Norton Kent, finds a charge that will stick and send Cleaver down for a very long time, and also the judge who is likely to do it.

Cleaver will need to rely not only on his own wits and the talents of his friends to avoid a hefty stretch behind bars, but also on his belief that Cal McGregor will do absolutely anything to see Cleaver endure that stretch.