The Gulf

Family life is shattered when Spencer Marris is abducted from his idyllic home on Waiheke Island. Jess gets a call from her dead husband, Alex.

Sex or money? Jess learns more of Spencer’s background and the compromises his wife had made in the marriage. Jess’s blackmailer pays a visit.

When a child’s skeleton is dug up on a dope plantation, suspicion is cast on the local Maori community and nearby commune dwellers. Harding has difficulty separating the investigation from his own memories of foster care.

Jess’s relationship with the commune founders makes the investigation complex. The blackmailer loses patience with Jess and Harding catches her in a compromising position.

A stabbing at a building site inevitably throws immigrant workers under suspicion. Harding comes up with a plan to turn the tables on Jess’s blackmailer.

A death puts Sarah Scully in the spotlight and Jess tries to figure out what Ruby’s role was. To her horror, Jess discovers who her blackmailer is.

Denise’s defence of her girlfriend Valerie from a frenzied attack has devastating results. A local vineyard hides a dark secret. Jess accuses Ruby’s friends of hiding the truth.

Jess finally confronts her blackmailer. Harding meets his sister Nadia after years of estrangement, but the encounter doesn’t go anything like he planned.