Every day, the team of dedicated social workers in Children's Services at Elm Heath council are faced with government cuts, huge levels of stress related sick leave, useless temporary staff and an ever increasing client list. And if it isn't the clients, it's the ex-clients. And if not them, it's their private lives that are giving them grief. Welcome to the world of the Damned.

An unexpected outbreak of punctuality surprises the cluster teams at Elm Heath, Rose uncovers an embarrassing truth whilst investigating an improper teacher pupil relationship, and Nitin wins the job of cleaning Elm Heath council's most toxic kitchen. Meanwhile, Al quietly comes to the rescue of his clients with learning difficulties and a new baby. Just another day for the over-stretched social workers of the Children's Services department.

Elm Heath Children's Services is doing its best: Al is worrying about the homophobic abuse of some gay parents while Nitin is throwing up everywhere having accidentally put his arse up on Instagram. Rose is still fretting about the fall-out from the teacher-pupil relationship at Glenway, and Nat has brought handcuffs into work don't ask. Everyone is entirely unaware that one of them is about to be taken hostage by a violent man with two children in care, a personal grudge against Rose, and a full bladder. A curry is called for.

Rose's mum has dementia. There's no way of looking after her unless Rose can pass her off as work experience and craftily get her assessed by the Elderly Care team upstairs. Denise and Nitin have their suspicions but, thankfully, their attention is diverted when allegations surface of sexual abuse by a famous actor at a local children's home. Ex-copper Nitin's ready to pull him in straight away, but Al and Rose aren't so sure. The main thing is to keep the story out of the press but while all this is going on, where's Rose's mum gone?

Nitin is getting a haircut, because Nat's fixed him up with a date and Nitin badly 'wants some'. Meanwhile, PC Harris calls an Emergency Strategy Meeting at Children's Services. Two teenage girls have gone missing: Syrian orphans brought up as atheists but who have recently started to wear hijabs. And they've left a long, rambling note for their worried foster parents. PC Harris reckons it's an ISIS sleeper cell. While Harris deploys all his resources, Martin offers to pop to the shops so he can look for them.

It's Judgement Day at Elm Heath Children's Services. Denise wants outstanding cases closed, or heads will roll. So Al urgently needs to house a large family of Syrian refugee children, but he also urgently needs to leave the office for a mini-break before his girlfriend dumps him. And Rose still is yet to broach the extremely delicate matter of the pupil-teacher relationship with Denise. And then they get the regular prank call about the abandoned baby. Apparently, this time it's in the crisps aisle at Superbrands. There's never a real abandoned baby, it's always a prank baby. Always.