The Heelers are on the trail of an illegal SP bookie and Nick feels responsible when the main suspect goes missing.
It's Melbourne Cup time in Mt Thomas and the Heelers are watching the race in the pub along with a number of other notables, such as Richo, Celia Donald and Compo Hayes. When Compo introduces them to his angry mate, Stacker Nicholl, as his best friends, the Heelers begin to get suspicious. Their suspicions are increased when they learn the TAB takings for the Cup are well down on last year's, and Tom deduces that an illegal Starting Price bookie must be in the town.
Maggie and PJ are convinced that Compo is involved in some way after Chris discover that his room at the Imperial has been trashed and he has gone missing. A short search of the hotel soon finds him asleep in the cellar, but Compo's explanation satisfies no-one.
When Stacker is brought in and charged, Nick is able to establish that he is a customer of the new SP bookie - even though Stacker denies all knowledge. So who could the SP be? Celia Donald is very anxious about her missing Filofax, and she is well-known to like a flutter on the horses. Could it be her? Could it be Stacker himself?
While they are puzzling over this, Compo reports another future crime, and talks his way into sitting off the Steam Packet bottle shop with Nick and Adam, waiting for it to be robbed. It isn't. Nick throes Compo out of the car and tells him to get lost.
Then Nick feels incredibly guilty, because the next day it seems Compo has taken him at word. He is missing, and all a search of his room produces is Celia's Filofax, which contains an SP booking sheet listing a number of local punters - including Richo, Stacker and Celia herself. The only punter not mentioned is Compo; so he must be the SP bookie.
Meanwhile PJ is dismayed to discover that Maggie has borrowed $5 000 to put Robbie into Thea Copeland's clinic in the hope that it alternative use of hypnotherapy and the like can finally cure him of his addiction. Robbie seems to be doing very well there....until he too disappears. When the Heelers learn that Compo Hayes has also been attending the clinic to get therapy for his gambling addiction, they are not too surprised to learn that Compo and Robbie have taken off together.
It is not long before they're found, in circumstances which make Maggie realise that her battle against Robbie's heroin addiction is far from over.
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