Season 5, Episode 46: "Something in the water" (original air date: September 5, 2003)

Gus van der Velter is injured on the prison building site, but his brother Todd sees a darker purpose. To everyone's bemusement, he claims that there is a conspiracy afoot, that working on a particular part of the site is making workers ill. To keep him happy, Nicky takes blood tests. But when Dana (Miriama Smith) ridicules Todd's theory, he turns the tables and suggests she is playing out of her league by hanging out with Chad, Nicky and Kieran. Dana rejects this idea but is unsettled.

Chad, meanwhile, is spending a fair bit of time at Kieran's. In contrast to Kieran, who is stressed about money, Chad is relaxed, charming and apparently liberal. A little too charming for Nicky, who gets the feeling he is flirting with her.

Then Gus has a seizure, which seems to be unconnected with his injuries. Nicky finds he has been exposed to a toxin, which might explain his neurological symptoms. As Nicky goes on the trail and starts to amass evidence of some kind of chemical dump on the site, Dana starts to feel that she is being left in the dark. Particularly when Todd's new conspiracy theory suggests that Chad must have know about the danger of poisoning. Dana confronts him about it and the fact that she seems to be not good enough to talk to. Chad denies her claims. In the end Dana feels reassured, unaware that she may be right to have concerns. Chad has been flirting with Nicky.

William and Louise are attending beginners' Italian lessons in preparation for their grand tour of Europe. William, who has taken the classes under duress, is irritated that the class star is Eric, a man who has turned into a fool for the sake of his younger wife. A wife who, it transpires, may already have left him. When William is critical, Eric suggests that he and William are not so different: William is with a much younger woman and can't take anything for granted. William wants to reject this notion, but Gabrielle's apparent flirting with Louise gives him food for thought.

Then Eric consults William about prostate problems, which may be cancer. Furthermore, Eric fears this will be the straw that ends his marriage. William tries to engender a little more hope in Eric. But Eric, facing a diagnosis of cancer, accusations of council cover-ups and the wrath of Todd van der Velter, seems to be a man in despair.