Prisoner

Two new prisoners, Karen Travers and Lyn Warner, are inducted into Wentworth Detention Centre and have to adjust to the harsh regime and the tough women they meet there. Karen, convicted of stabbing her cheating husband to death in the shower, turns out to be an old flame of prison Doctor Greg Miller. Lynn has been convicted of kidnapping and burying a baby alive, and though she loudly protests her innocence, she is bullied by the other women, led by their 'Top Dog', murderess Bea Smith. Meanwhile, young inmate Sally Lee hangs herself in her cell while going through ...

Lynn withdraws her complaint, so Bea's release is approved. The prisoners hold a farwell party for Bea and Mum. Mum leaves her beloved garden in the hands of Lynn. Mum is released into the care of her daughter, Lorraine, and Bea gets a lift into town from Eddie. Meg and Bill are having problems with their teenage son Marty, who tells them he wants to move out and get a place with his girlfriend. With Bea gone, Franky siezes the opportunity to take over the press and announces she is now in charge. Greg tries to talk Karen into appealing against her sentence, realising her husband was abusing her. Lynn goes on hunger strike until her innocence is believed. Mum's daughter rejects her, saying she doesn't want her coming home with her, so Mum checks into a grotty bedsit in town. Bea spends her first night of freedom in luxury at a hotel. Next morning, she visits daughter Debbie's grave and picks up a package from her old cellmate, a ""present"" for her husband.

With Frankie's hold over the women growing, she attempts to show the screws who is in charge by getting the women to stay in the dinning room until she gives the order for them to leave. Prostitute Chrissie Latham tries to seduce Bill but he turns her down. Lizzie and Marilyn mess around with the wiring so that Eddie will be called in. Marilyn and Eddie climb up into the roof for a "Liaison". Bea's return sends Frankie over the edge and she starts a riot in the dinning room. Bea, Doreen and some other women are trapped in the laundry; Frankie, Lizzy, Chrissie and ...

Judy and Mouse dig in the rubble with their bare hands, but they only turn up Irene's dead body . They shout for help and hear Bea's voice on the other side of the cave-in: Bea tells them that Doreen and Lizzie are still alive. Meanwhile, Anne is making a rockery on top of the tunnel, but Gillespie sees her and sends her back inside the marquee. Bea has to help Doreen free her leg , but she still isn't able to walk, so Bea goes back alone to try to get help. Margo and Hazel are worried that Bea and Lizzie haven't come back , especially when Vera notices that Bea isn't around, but Margo manages to cover for her. Bea reaches the entrance to the tunnel but can't get the lid up. Gillespie notices the ladder and raises the alarm: all the kids are sent home.

Jim overhears Mouse and Margo discussing the escape and what might have happened to Doreen and Bea, and Irene's death in the cave-in. Anne is also listening as they pass her cell and she assumes that it's Bea who is dead. Mouse agrees to show the officers where the tunnel is, but Gillespie nevertheless orders that she loses remission. Lizzie uses a piece of her costume tied round a stick as a torch, but Bea grabs hold of it and rushes off down the tunnel. Chrissie asks Gillespie for permission to hold a first birthday party for Elizabeth: he refuses and says he will make sure that child welfare are informed and come to collect Elizabeth promptly when she is one year old. Mouse leads the officers to where Lizzie and Doreen are. Anne is told that Dr Weissman may want to see her again after he's interviewed her family. Bea is eventually found banging her hands on a security grille trying to get through.

Wally tells Judy he saw her photo in the newspaper, but tells her he has no intention of telling the police where she is, inviting her to stay as long as he likes. He is surprised when she turns down the offer of "a smoke", so Judy offers to explain why she is so opposed to drugs by telling him her story. Lizzie and Doreen are allowed out of sickbay. The women are delighted by the TV news that Judy is still on the run: Gillespie is annoyed and wants to have TV and radio privileges taken away. Erica tells him she will only agree to have the newspapers censored. Bea regrets that Anne has been transferred to a psychiatric hospital before she had the chance to fix her. Gillespie tells Vera to censor the papers but cuts her down to size when she suggests his own idea about TV and radio. Judy is disappointed that the letter she left in her cell hasn't been mentioned in the newspapers and is inspired by Wally's' suggestion that she writes to the Ombudsman.

Jim and Meg escape just as the rioting women take control of the prison but Steve and Janet are trapped inside. The inmates bicker amongst themselves - Marie stirs everyone up, Margo mouths off and Sandy tries to keep control of the situation. Outside the jail, Erica won't allow the police to storm the building, to Jim's disgust. Steve manages to get to a phone and tell the police they are still inside but he ends up having to hide up in the roof from the prisoners. The women give Erica their list of demands. In hospital, Bea hears of the riot on TV and phones the prison to speak to Erica, but Ted Douglas won't let her. The marauding women finally track down Steve, separated from Janet, in the Governor's office. On Sandy's orders, they pin him to Erica's desk and start to strip him.

The almost-naked Steve is locked up in a cell. Janet finds him, but he tells her to leave him there and find a way out. Bea phones the prison again and gets to speak to Erica this time. She agrees to let Bea talk to the women. Kate is sent out to speak to Bea, with Colleen sent into the prison in her place temporarily as a trade. Lizzie is sent outside with the women's latest list of demands, only to be grabbed by the cops and taken away for her trial. The police prepare to send Jim in, commando-style, through the roof after dark to find Steve and Janet. The women read Janet's file and learn she is an ex-prisoner. They manage to catch Janet, strip her and dress her in an old prisoner's uniform. The police blackout the jail: Jim scales the wall and finds Steve and Janet safe. He radios the police to tell them, but the women stumble upon him. As they give chase, the riot squad lob tear gas into reception and storm the prison.

Sandy tries to seduce Steve, but they are distracted by all the commotion and he overpowers her. He finds Jim and they manage to regain control of the situation. Cops swarm into the prison. When they find Janet, they assume she is an inmate and knock her out. Marie tries to escape dressed as an officer but is caught by Erica. In the aftermath of the riot, Kate lets Sandy know the women think it was a waste of time. Sandy is sent to solitary and security measures are increased. Jim applies for another job. Marie siezes control as Top Dog and takes over Sandy's laundry racket, asking Fitzwater to pay them in drugs rather than money. At Lizzie's trial, Colleen testifies against her but is demolished by the defence. Gordon Humphrey admits he wanted to demolish the house and have the land rezoned, prompting an outburst from Lizzie, who is ultimately acquitted of the arson charges.