Alf has to deal with a group of travellers who have a grudge against him. Alf is determined to catch them at whatever crime they're about to commit. He feels guilty for not convicting them of a crime they committed in the past during which one of his old colleagues was crippled. Alf spends time observing them and making notes, but unfortunately he is spotted and they take him and tie him up in a horse box. It is a race horse that they intend to steal, but during the process Alf makes his escape and drives off in the horse box. They follow him but road blocks have been set up and the thieves are caught. Greengrass lets some guides camp on his land but it proves more hassle than he bargained for.

During a dinner at Ashfordly Hall the county High Sheriff Andrew Parkin makes a pass at Susie Cope, who is serving at the dinner. On their way home from the dinner Parkin and his wife Sonia run down the farmer Colin Taylor. The Parkins claim that Mrs. Parkin was driving the car due to him having too much to drink, but PC Bradley is not sure because the driver's seat was too far back for her. Either way the accident may turn out to be a costly affair for the Parkins, because their insurance does not cover her driving the car. Furthermore Susie Cope tells Oscar Blaketon, who is acting as a private investigator on Taylor's behalf, that she is certain that it was the High Sheriff himself who was behind the wheel. Vernon Scripps revives an old idea of his, a marriage bureau.