Looking Forward to the Past

The shock of Trudi's pregnancy to Jack has left Laura angry and determined to remove Jack from her life. As Laura sets out to forget her past, the town's celebration of its history - the annual Pearl Bay Pork Festival - is imminent. But things are not running smoothly. This year Bob's roped in a multinational called "Tony's Hot Ribs" to sponsor the event but Meredith is adamant the town can celebrate its traditions without a sponsor for the Festival. Bob points out the Festival is a dying event - hardly anyone turned up last year - and sponsorship is the only way forward. Meredith is furious when Laura agrees with Bob that a sponsor seems a sensible idea.

Max has decided to return to life as a foreign correspondent and accepts a dangerous assignment in Kosovo. But he is involved in a car accident as he leaves town and is forced to stay in Pearl Bay for the court case. The other driver is a very attractive woman called Imogen Wilkes, the public relations spokesperson for Tony's Hot Ribs and - to Karen's horror - Angus' ex-girlfriend. Imogen sweet-talks the town into the benefits of sponsorship for the Festival. But Meredith is not convinced and Heather is devastated that the Pork Queen Competition will be cancelled this year.

In court, Imogen denies responsibility for the car accident and faces prosecution by an unusually ruthless Karen. Angus is left reeling by a revelation from Imogen about their shared history. As he struggles with this, Karen fears she might lose him. Laura decides to try to make amends with Meredith by cooking lemon butter for the Festival. Despite her failed attempts, she refuses to resort to Dan's prize-winning recipe - determined not to seek help from the past.

Stuck in town for Imogen's court case, Max enlists Carmen's help in digging up some dirt on Tony's Hot Ribs. He publishes a damning article which causes the company to withdraw its sponsorship and it looks like the Festival is doomed. As Max rushes to leave town, he receives terrible news from the Bureau in Kosovo.

Meredith reminisces about past Pork Festivals and discovers a story Max wrote as a child about the delights of the Festival. Carmen uses the story to remind the town of the significance of the event and the community rallies to save it. Laura wins Meredith's forgiveness with her lemon butter and her offer to judge the Pork Queen Competition. Max opts to stay in Pearl Bay - knowing he cannot run away from the pain of the recent past and Laura learns some memories are worth keeping.