Season 6, Episode 55: "The book I read" (original air date: February 20, 2004)

Nicky reads a novel which seems to hold the key to buried secrets about Kieran and Amanda. Is it just her imagination, or is it all true?

Nicky buys a copy of a new New Zealand novel, written by Kieran's friend, Guy. But as she reads she notices that the fictional characters have similarities to people she knows - Kieran and Amanda. Kieran confirms that they did all once work in a restaurant together, but seems to show no interest in reading the book himself. And Nicky and Kieran have other matters to deal with. Sascha wants to leave school, and also gets dumped by her boyfriend, Matt. But even though Sascha's angry, she doesn't seem to be heartbroken.

And Nicky is receiving letters from Anton Devcich, who is remanded in custody for the murder of Curtis Willoughby. Nicky isn't even looking at the letters, but Kieran wants Ken to stop this harassment by mail. Ken duly tells Anton to desist with the letters, but Anton, still proclaiming his innocence, insists he has the right to get in touch with people who are involved.

And as Nicky reads on, the book becomes more disturbing when the Amanda-like character kills a man, and the Kieran and Guy-like characters help to bury the body. To add intrigue to suspicion, Amanda suddenly arrives, supposedly to comfort Sascha. Kieran claims to have no knowledge of this, but Nicky can't help but feel there is a conspiracy afoot - particularly when his cell-phone shows Kieran has called Amanda.

So Nicky finally reads one of Anton's letters. He insists that Kieran is lying. And that he must remember throwing Anton out of the party where Curtis Willoughby disappeared. Anton was stealing from the room where baby Sascha was asleep and Kieran thought he might have harmed her and threw him out, angry.

Nicky confronts Kieran, but he insists that it's proof of nothing. Yes, he threw Anton out, but there was nothing to say Anton didn't kill Curtis at a later time. Not entirely mollified, Nicky lays out her paranoid theories to Alistair: that Amanda killed Curtis Willoughby and Kieran and Guy helped to cover it up. While secretly delighted that there's trouble in paradise, Alistair points out that Nicky may be being irrational.

Nicky wants to believe him, but then finds Amanda going to great efforts to give her version of what happened at the party. And when Amanda leaves, Nicky realises she is once again calling Kieran. As she tries to find Guy's number to get the truth, Kieran arrives home. This time, Nicky won't be put off. And when she tells him her suspicions, Kieran is forced to finally tell the truth.

Appalled at what she has learned, the fact that Kieran has lied to her for so long, and that he was prepared to let Anton go to jail, Nicky leaves.

Kieran goes to the police station to confess.