Charles Rider, a wine-loving regular at Pie in the Sky, is being threatened. It turns out he is really Joseph Webb, an ex-burglar turned supergrass, and now in witness protection. His collection includes many valuable bottles of wine, some of them stolen property and formerly owned by a bent policeman. His cronies have tracked Webb down and want the most priceless bottle back. So Rider comes to Henry Crabbe for help. Can Crabbe restore justice while keeping his friend safe?

Car crime is on the rise, with most of the vehicles being stolen from the car park at the railway station. Henry's problems mount as he not only has to deal with two separate sets of thieves, but also with a hostile new female Superintendent. Things come to a head when Fisher's car is nicked at the station right under his nose. Back at the restaurant Gary and Margaret are being given a hard time by an over-zealous Food Inspector. Will she do as she is threatening and close the restaurant down?

Henry and Margaret spend a day at the races with her new client Bob Bishop, who is resisting a take-over bid for his cider brewery. A mysterious man shadows Henry and then the corpse of stable lad Ben Tucker is found in a horse-box. Bob's brother Tony owns the stables, which are failing, and he is very curt with Henry when he comes to investigate. On the night he died Ben had argued with another stable lad Jerry Lawless over female jockey Jude O'Brien but he too is murdered and Bob's daughter Liz, another jockey, is found in his caravan with a bag full of bank-notes.

Liz claims the money is winnings from a bet and Henry releases her but notes that Jerry too has a healthy bank balance and surmises he was trading inside information for cash. Tony apologizes to Henry but tries to push Bob into accepting the take-over and Henry's mystery man proves to be a private eye, since Tony has been fixing races and the Jockey Club have hired him to get proof. Henry believes Tony got Jerry to nobble his horses and killed Ben when he found out. He has the correct motive but the wrong suspect and it's Margaret who literally stumbles on the real killer and has a close call with them. Meanwhile Nicola is annoyed when a spoilt school-friend appears to be making a play for Gary, though she is actually trying to poach him for her restaurant - unsuccessfully.

The Chen family appear to be victims of racial harassment when their Chinese takeaway is set fire to but widowed Mr. Chen will not go to the police so his daughter Mei asks Henry for help, It turns out that Chen is a gambler deeply in debt to a restauranteur in London's Chinatown who has been has been threatening him for the money he owes. When Pie in the Sky makes it to the final of the Great British Grub contest being held in London, Henry uses the trip to visit Chinatown and act as go-between. A winner and a loser return to Middleton come the end of the day.

The 'Happy Ploughman' food chain has won the franchise for the Police canteen, but is being subjected to deliberate vandalism. An obvious suspect is Flora McKee, a local baker who was not only rejected as a supplier to the firm, but was upset by improper advances made to her by its manager, Geoff Reece. Spurred on by Fisher, Henry tracks down the culprit and solves an old mystery into the bargain.

An armed hold-up at 'Pie in the Sky' while jewel-rich Mrs. Burdett is present brings DS Stringer to investigate. His abrasive manner alienates all the restaurant staff, including the normally placid Henry. He accuses first Gary, then Nicola and her new boy friend Paul of passing on the information regarding the Burdetts' booking to the thieves. But Henry's judicious questioning of the victim brings the solution, in time for Gary to celebrate two years of sobriety.

Henry and his team are called to a private boarding school where police Commander Colin Stilwell's son Alex has been beaten up by local youths. Henry initially encounters a wall of insular hostility from the establishment before Alex points him to another pupil, who has blackmailed the Chemistry teacher into manufacturing Ecstasy tablets, which he is selling around the school. Gary meanwhile creates a new blend of mustard and attracts the attention of a large food manufacturer who offer to market it. However, they want to alter the recipe, making it taste more bland, whereupon Gary, taking a leaf from Henry's book, puts his culinary principles first and tells them that the deal is off.

Henry has to solve a series of thefts from lorries and gets unexpected help from private security firm Troubleshooters. Their accuracy is such that he is suspicious of how they came to know of the crimes and believes that there is a possible informer within police ranks feeding them information for a reward. Troubleshooters are due to play the police eleven in an important football match. Both teams boast an ex-professional, in the police team's case Kirk Flowerbridge, who has a murky past and a liking for the drink. Fisher tasks Henry with minding Kirk and keeping him sober for the match. In the process of helping Kirk,Henry gets to identify the informer.