Loretta is having trouble with ho’s – including a crisis involving a client and a salami. Hayden is happy to offer helpful advice to his beloved, but Loretta does not want to hear it. Chastity is about to lose her apartment, and Loretta finds that her and Hayden know each other intimately from the past. Loretta is further discomfited to find Hayden comforting Chastity. She has a housing problem, it’s not like anyone died! Actually Chastity’s mother has died and she needs to go home to New Plymouth. Loretta reminds her about her high-paying regular, Damien, and Chastity is almost swayed, but Hayden intervenes to insist that Chastity leave this problem with her manager. Loretta tries to find an alternative, but Pascalle isn’t about to agree, even for the ‘girlfriend experience’. When Hayden suggests Loretta admit defeat and tell the truth to the client, Loretta is goaded to decide to do the gig herself. Hayden can’t believe she’s serious.

Meanwhile, Aaron has a strange experience when he goes to pick up some tool guy equipment and finds Munter a haunted and not well man. Aaron takes his concerns to Van, and finds the horrible truth – Munter has been forced into being a house husband, because Kasey earns more than him.

It still freaks me out, man. Milking chicks? What are they going to milk next – goats? -Van

When Munter finds that Aaron knows his secret, he cracks, and indeed seems a broken man. Aaron intervenes with the ball breaker known as Kasey, but has little success in getting her to return to her rightful place at home. Aaron decides that higher forces need to be put into play and calls in The Gooch, childcare and psychology expert. The Gooch diagnoses a serious problem, and they offer support to their brother, encouraging him into essential me-time. Munter gets no further than the porch, as Kasey rings, guilty – to encourage Munter that it’s only five years until Hemi goes to school. Munter is further depressed and the Tool brothers see they have a serious situation on their hands. They confront Loretta demanding paid parental leave for Munter. She is entirely unsympathetic, so they decide to go on strike. Loretta is even more annoyed, but now, despite Hayden’s warnings and disbelief, she heads out to do the girlfriend experience. Loretta is not exactly a huge success as a sympathetic listener, but Damien decides he will have the sex if not the companionship. Loretta argues the toss and this starts to turn ugly – as Hayden rides to the rescue. But Loretta is chagrined at this, and even more pissed off when Hayden gives her a chart read about being a crap manager. He is just as frustrated about their relationship – he’s her husband and it’s his job to help. This cuts no ice with Loretta, who can’t appear to be weak, ever.

Munter is sent out for ‘me time’ by the Tools – only to be sprung at the Rusty by Kasey. Appalled to hear of his childcare arrangements, she rushes home to find happy domesticity with Aaron, The Gooch and their coffee group of yummy mummies. Kasey feels threatened, but Munter is alarmed as Loretta arrives to fire the striking tools. But now Loretta gets a call from Angel with a very real problem – a client who has died on the job. In desperate straits, Loretta is forced to seek help from Hayden. He deals with the crisis with aplomb – and Loretta in a rare moment of weakness, shows kindness to Munter, and the Tools feel vindicated.

Munter and Kasey resolve that they can now just about cope with their new roles.

Loretta allows Hayden his suggestion to help with her hooker problems – and in the true spirit of marital togetherness, they decide to open a brothel together.

Nicky is about to face sentencing and Pascalle is determined to support. Unfortunately, no one else in the West family or associates seems to share her concern. The only person who is prepared to court with her is Judd. Partly in case things go wrong . . .

As Nicky awaits his fate, the masses at the Rusty Nail are running a sweep on how long it will be. But the betting is not on Nicky’s sentence, it’s how long Pascalle will hold out before she roots someone else. Into this come Pascalle and Judd with the bad news that Nicky got nine years, and Pascalle had to be removed from court. Pascalle takes refuge in serious drinking, and is comatose – when the cops arrive to search the house. It seems that Nicky has escaped from a van on the way to prison along with several other convicts.

I don’t think the law works along the lines of ‘oh, he did Ted West a favour, so let’s shave some years off his stretch’. - Judd

Van also finds his place is part of the police search, where the cops do not find Nicky, but they do find two jet skis in the garage. Van is not pleased, and Falani and Eric blame Jethro. Van calls to confront his brother, who is in bed with Bailey. She is not pleased to hear of another theft from the warehouse. Jethro is not pleased to find that Eric had a yen for the jet skis, and still wants them disposed of. Van decides the jet skis were in his garage and are now his property. And when Cheryl calls, Van decides to dob in Jethro for good measure. Jethro manages to finesse Cheryl, but is angry with Van. Van pitches the jet skis to Aaron and the Gooch, and manages to make a sale. Unfortunately, this is witnessed by Eric and Falani – so by the time Van goes to complete the sale, the jet skis are gone. Eric and Falani blame Jethro for the theft.

Back with the shock escape – there are news reports from the scene and Pascalle is alarmed that armed police are on the case. Judd is relieved that Pascalle seems not to be involved, as Cheryl calls, alarmed. Judd warns Pascalle that she mustn’t take any calls from Nicky or be associated with him in any way, and takes her to the cop shop to make a statement. Pascalle finds that the escape was orchestrated and violent, but refuses to believe that Nicky had anything to do with it. Angel, meanwhile, is panicking that Nicky might be coming after her and the girls. The hookers plan to down tools and to go into hiding, which leaves Loretta with something of a gap in her workforce.

Pascalle is distraught as there is news that one of the escaped prisoners has been shot – and now Beltz arrives wanting Pascalle to accompany him to the station. This is because they have CCTV footage which shows Nicky at the airport – he has apparently left the country. Loretta, delighted, reports this to Angel so she can get back to work, but Pascalle is thrown that Nicky could leave without saying goodbye. As now Grandpa accosts Pascalle with a cellphone – Nicky is going to call. Pascalle is distracted as Jethro comes to offer brotherly advice, then Nicky calls to reveal that he hasn’t left the country. Pascalle finds that Ngaire is also in on the escape plot as she helps smuggle Pascalle to where Nicky is hidden.

But Pascalle is not overjoyed to see him, and gives him a serve about the escape, and the violence, and being kept in the dark. Nicky’s defence is that he couldn’t expose her to risk and he did all of it for love of her, because he couldn’t bear to be without her. At this, Pascalle finally forgets any moral qualms and is reunited with her fiancé . . .