An Arab sheikh's chauffeur is charged with the murder of a young prostitute, thereby jeopardising a lucrative government deal.

Gary Patterson walks into his local police station and confesses to the recent murder of a young woman. Gary is in his early 20's, but is developmentally disabled and has the mind of a thirteen year-old. He knew the girl quite well and was attracted to her, but his shyness and disability made him feel inadequate. Judge Deed feels the prosecution has a weak case and fumes when he learns that they have withheld evidence from the defence. On another front, Deed decides to investigate rumours that a fellow judge may be corrupt. He enlists his daughter Charlie to undertake some research but he is breaching etiquette by engaging in this type activity and is inviting the wrath of the Lord Chancellors Department and his fellow judges.

Three siblings - Ed, Darina and Wilfred Hay - are charged with hiring someone to murder their abusive father. Appearing before Judge Deed, Ed Hay, a solicitor, acts for himself and his brother and sister in spite of the Judge's recommendation that they seek counsel. In his personal life, Deed renews his relationship with Francesca Rochester, who has now left her husband. She seeks Deed's assistance in having an elderly aunt declared mentally unfit which would allow Francesca to save the publishing business. At the news that Deed is again seeing his wife, Sir Ian Rochester re-doubles his efforts to discredit him and remove him from the bench. Deed's daughter Charlie informs him that she is pregnant and wants a termination, something Deed is dead set against.

Sitting in the Family Division, Deed hears the case of a 15-year old who is refusing a heart transplant because of the use of animals in drug testing. He is only a few weeks away from his 16th birthday when he would have the final say but his parents, the mother in particular, desperately wants him to live. Deed finds the boy mature well beyond his years but as a parent himself, is torn by the choice he must make. In court, Deed presides over the case of two drug addicts who killed a young teenager to steal his newly-acquired mobile phone. Charlie Deed continues her political activism but her family must race to the hospital when they learn that a young woman fitting her description was seriously hurt at a protest. Once again, the Lord Chancellor's Department is out to get Deeds only this time they focus on Jo Mills accusing her of unethical conduct in her relationship with the Judge.