It's Frank's 50th. Uncharacteristically, he snubs the chance for a party and opts to dwell in his own lonely loveless existence - until librarian Libby falls into his life.

Having served a short prison term for inciting a riot over the library closure Libby is back,driving a mobile library van and,after some misgivings,Frank agrees they should make a go of it. Lilian buys a HD television whose white noise leads her to believe that she has a link to the after-life and conducts a seance but it turns out to be a technical fault. After Karen accuses him of infidelity Jamie quits working as a male escort and Carl willingly takes his place.

As Libby and Patty move in Frank offers to paint Patty's room but,when he falls over absconding with the paint,he feigns injury to get out of the task before buying cheap road marker paint from the workmen. Karen improves but Kelly,ashamed of her session with Paddy,repeatedly turns down Shane's marriage proposals until Paddy tells his son the truth and the couple wed. Chesney and Carl go on the run after seeing the ultra-violent Jimmy beat to death a boy who has sex with his sister and threaten to claim that Chesney was the killer.

The council ask the residents to make a film to improve the estate's image though Micky's violent take on 'Taxi Driver' is not what they expected. Meanwhile the Gallaghers use the filming to shadow Jimmy but when Ian confronts him he gets a severe beating. Chesney and Carl hole up with the free-spirited Hazel on her cannabis farm in Wales but she is also hiding a deadly secret and Carl decides to return home. Mimi joins the W.I. to soften her image and gets her revenge when the others look down on her.

Chesney and Carl return to the estate,hiding out with Joe,who dissuades Carl from shooting Jimmy. Eventually Shane,increasingly angry at how the cocky Jimmy and his gang see themselves as beyond the law whilst terrorising the Gallaghers,persuades his family to take them on and teach them a lesson. Maxine persuades Jimmy's sister to tell the police the truth and the fugitives are cleared though Maxine still aborts Carl's child. Shane also finds that he is infertile,leading to his family offering to be sperm donors though Kelly declines their offer as she and Shane continue to be surrogate parents to Liam.

When Liam befriends a World War II veteran to help him with his school project, he finds solace in the old man's company, but Libby spies on them and jumps to all the wrong conclusions.

Libby makes it clear to Frank she wants a child but she and Liam do reconcile. However,at the Jockey's Talent Contest night it's Liam's new friend Dean who helps him win - approval. Ian is involved with the local boxing club and discovers that its owner Jock and Paddy have ill-feeling which goes back a long way. Jock owes Paddy money and to prevent him taking his gym he torches it. Fortunately Micky,recently accepted as a fireman,is on hand to act and to save Paddy - at long last gaining his father's respect.

When Kelly's fifteen year old sister Tonya arrives to stay her child has been taken into care but she has a chance of reclaiming it if she proves she can look after a robotic baby. However she dumps it on the Maguires whilst she goes out on the lash and Micky sadly acknowledges that her child would be better off without her though he rallies the family to scare off her father Homer,who is also the father of her baby. Frank accompanies Patty to Lourdes,where they masquerade as clerics to steal the altar wine and Frank appears to be on the receiving end of a miracle.

When Paddy plans to move on with new lady friend Rosalita he and Mimi decide to divorce,only to discover their marriage was never legal.so they have to get married again quickly to make the children legitimate. They hope to keep things secret but Micky finds out. After Frank has stolen from her Patty sets him up for benefit fraud,leading to a day in the cells for them both whilst Micky gets picked up by attractive Gary. Unfortunately Gary thinks Micky is Paddy and is only sleeping with him for the status,which he publicly declares.

Bruce,now live-in barman at the Jockey,takes over the football team and enters them in an all gay football contest,much to the disgust of Chesney. Maxine meets her old art teacher,Marc,recently widowed,and agrees to pose topless for his class. However she turns down a relationship with him so as not to betray Ian. Joe learns of his father's death on his birthday and determines to run away with Karen and Connor. However Ian follows and,when Joe violently attacks Karen,who wants to return to Jamie,he brains him.

Ayudado por su amigo Anto, Joe huye de la finca con Karen y Connor, pero cuando Karen expresa su deseo de regresar con Jamie, Joe se vuelve violento e intenta estrangularla. Afortunadamente, Ian los ha seguido y lo mata. De vuelta en el Jockey, escenario de una amnistía de armas, Roscoe, a quien los Maguire estafaron con dinero falso, irrumpe con su pandilla y toma a todos como rehenes, amenazando con disparar a Shane y Jamie. Sin embargo, Frank, Bruce y Micky, que están en el sótano, acceden a las armas entregadas y logran salvar el día armando a todos... excepto a Mimi, que está arriba. Los dolores que ella creía eran síntomas de la menopausia resultan ser una señal de embarazo y da a luz a una niña.

Karen returns and tries to patch things up with Jamie whilst Mimi,who has called her baby Cilla,tries in vain to find out who the father is. Libby and Frank's wedding plans are interrupted by news of Debbie's death and the arrival of Monica,who in fact had put a friend up to falsely reporting the non-existent death to hurt Frank. Frank enjoys himself at his stag night but then disappears whilst new resident Avril Powell organizes a hen party for Libby,at which Mimi collapses and is rushed to hospital.

Frank is still AWOL and Libby is distraught that Monica is demanding custody of Stella and Liam, while Karen is keen to move forward as a family in counseling.

Frank is in a mental ward at the mercy of Monica's lover ,nurse Mildred,but Libby believes he has deserted her and spends the wedding money on a new kitchen. Avril sets out to look after Mimi,causing Mimi to temporarily have 'impure' thoughts about her whilst Shane takes over security at the school where Jackson works. He helps young Jude overcome bullying by his twin but there is still competition between him and Jamie over business. Micky attempts to help his ex-con pen-pal come out to his family but just stops short of outing himself to Mimi and his brothers.

Chesney's cousin Sita fails her exams but her tutor John Cromer agrees to pass her if they have sex,which leads to his being set up and filmed by Carl to compromise him into passing Sita. Patty's great nephew Aidan,an aggressive little brat,comes to stay after his single mother,a drug addict and prostitute,has been jailed. He soon gets into a fight with Jackson and uses Libby's credit card to access Interner porn. Karen and Jamie reconcile,Karen agreeing to out-patient treatment at the local psychiatric hospital,where she sees Frank and tells Libby.

Monica informs Libby that she has twenty-four hours to marry Frank or else she will nullify the divorce and reclaim the house. Recognizing Mildred Fletcher as Monica's lover Frank steals her keys and escapes with a girl called Carly,putting Mildred wise as to Monica's true nature. However,as Libby has broken into the unit he has to recruit the Maguire boys to go back with him to rescue her. At the Jockey the wedding is about to take place,Liam sending a letter to say he will stay with Monica to try and make her a better person. Monica is beaten but Libby and Frank decide not to marry but live together instead.

Kelly is angry with Shane for taking money from their joint account for the business and helps herself to two grand,an act which spells danger for Carl on his first day as a courier for the Maguires and though Jamie ensures he has a memorable twenty-first Shane warns him against doing business with his brother. Micky meanwhile persuades a reluctant Chesney to help him set up a gay chat-line and comments about football by Mimi mistakenly lead Jackson to believe she is racist.

Kelly and Shane start a business satisfying people's sexual fantasies. However,whilst helping MP's wife Sandra Brown enact her fantasy of being kidnapped they attract police attention and are soon besieged on the estate. Fortunately Shane has an elaborate plan which will return Sandra without any arrests and make him a pile of money. Sita discovers Chesney's Muslim driving school is a front for wild parties and teaches him a lesson by calling in the anti-terrorist squad,at the same time securing compensation for their ailing shop.

To get money for Cilla and do his bit for morals Micky creates a fake child porn site Skool Dreamz,with no nude photos,to get the credit card details of would-be punters and bankrupt them. Unfortunately the family is arrested for fraud but Micky gives a rousing speech in court which has no bearing on the case being dismissed. Working on a help line Patty meets and marries depressive Trevor but finds he only wants her for a suicide pact,which she is not about to fulfil. Sita gets one over on Aidan,who has been sexually harassing her.

After sleepless nights with Cilla Mimi is starting to feel bad and believes that she is going mad,as one of her relatives did,and that the house is haunted. Finally she believes that Kelly and Shane are trying to kill her and locks them out of the house though she recovers after seeing a vision of Mandy,who tells her what to do. Kelly is suspicious of the power new girl Bonnie exerts over Lillian in the brothel and Avril and Jackson's continuing efforts to spice up their sex life leads daughter Letitia to believe that her father is having an affair.

Micky gets a cat,Dusty,from the pet shelter and,wrongly believing it has Feline AIDs consults elderly gay Lulu,who is HIV positive. When Lulu dies Mimi appears sympathetic to gays but adds that she would feel she had done something wrong if she had a gay child. After Carl is injured minding the shop in Chesney's absence Sita drives the car Jamie wanted him to deliver,only for them to discover it was stolen and a knicker-thief,stealing Mimi's pants off the washing line,brings fear to the estate.

Kelly is appalled to find that Lillian has formally adopted Bonnie and given her the brothel,which she sets about altering. However Bonnie is a very mixed up young woman and,unable to face up to Lilian's love for her,kills herself. Also disturbed is Jennie,the carer Libby hires to look after Patty because Jennie has a pathological hatred of old people,stemming from her childhood,and Libby has to save her mother from her. Carl is upset when Sita tells him she is returning to Pakistan for an arranged marriage though he has a new,unwanted admirer in Letitia.

Mimi is surprised when her brother Bobbi turns up to announce he's soon to become her sister! Meanwhile, Jackson dabbles in local politics while Shane's new clamping business causes mayhem.

Following a charity evening at the Jockey Shane resists the advances of wheelchair-bound teenager Tilly Pucker,who consequently accuses him of stealing her chair and the charity collection. When her minders pursue Shane however the entire Maguire clan ,including Jamie,close ranks and family harmony is restored. Increasingly disheartened at Frank's lack of romance,especially after hearing he had oral sex with Letitia's headmistress, Libby invents a fictional lover to make him jealous. He sees through the ruse but she decides to leave him anyway,despite his accidental torching of her library van.

Following a charity evening at the Jockey Shane resists the advances of wheelchair-bound teenager Tilly Pucker,who consequently accuses him of stealing her chair and the charity collection. When her minders pursue Shane however the entire Maguire clan ,including Jamie,close ranks and family harmony is restored. Increasingly disheartened at Frank's lack of romance,especially after hearing he had oral sex with Letitia's headmistress, Libby invents a fictional lover to make him jealous. He sees through the ruse but she decides to leave him anyway,despite his accidental torching of her library van.

Monica informs Libby that she has twenty-four hours to marry Frank or else she will nullify the divorce and reclaim the house. Recognizing Mildred Fletcher as Monica's lover Frank steals her keys and escapes with a girl called Carly,putting Mildred wise as to Monica's true nature. However,as Libby has broken into the unit he has to recruit the Maguire boys to go back with him to rescue her. At the Jockey the wedding is about to take place,Liam sending a letter to say he will stay with Monica to try and make her a better person. Monica is beaten but Libby and Frank decide not to marry but live together instead.

Kelly is appalled to find that Lillian has formally adopted Bonnie and given her the brothel,which she sets about altering. However Bonnie is a very mixed up young woman and,unable to face up to Lilian's love for her,kills herself. Also disturbed is Jennie,the carer Libby hires to look after Patty because Jennie has a pathological hatred of old people,stemming from her childhood,and Libby has to save her mother from her. Carl is upset when Sita tells him she is returning to Pakistan for an arranged marriage though he has a new,unwanted admirer in Letitia.

Having served a short prison term for inciting a riot over the library closure Libby is back,driving a mobile library van and,after some misgivings,Frank agrees they should make a go of it. Lilian buys a HD television whose white noise leads her to believe that she has a link to the after-life and conducts a seance but it turns out to be a technical fault. After Karen accuses him of infidelity Jamie quits working as a male escort and Carl willingly takes his place.

When Liam befriends a World War II veteran to help him with his school project, he finds solace in the old man's company, but Libby spies on them and jumps to all the wrong conclusions.