1.02 Trial by Gossip by Christine McCourt
Summary: Speeding through the Outback in a white, convertible car is the new pilot, David Gibson with his dog Zeppelin. He arrives in Coopers Crossing only to find the other newcomer, Chris, not just viewed with suspicion anymore, but downright hated and feared. Gossip is rife - she has crippled a man by amputating his leg. Surely she's not competent to do her job as a doctor, and if only she had made the decision to take off in the bad weather, his leg could have been saved. George Baxter, a friend of the amputee, convinces the man he should sue Chris for malpractice. On one of the clinic runs, Chris has to stay the night. The four-year-old girl of the house keeps coughing, but the mother won't let Chris have a look, even when the coughing turns into a difficulty to breathe. Meanwhile, Gibbo has come up with a plan to convince George that the neglected airstrip was in such bad condition that the plane couldn't possibly have taken off in a storm. The plan works and George ends up convincing the mother to let Chris do a tracheotomy to save the child's life. Town gossip Violet tries to find out why American Liz left Tom, and orders Ray to have a man-to-man with him.
