Stephen Bradley's life isn't going well. He hasn't been home for 3 days and his wife is ready to kick him out. And at the firm, the director of finance is investigating his expense account records. The sale of a business he has spent 4 months working on is stalled because one of a pair of brothers won't sign the deal. Ashley is sent to do a pitch for a business, but then he has to do it himself, and so the deal falls through. At the last minute, Maria saves the deal, but at the end of the day Stephen is still at the office.

Stephen is trying to close the sale of a travel business, but the seller is stalling and he needs to find out why. Martin and Annie represent a record label that wants to keep the members of a pop band from having relationships that cause the group's CD sales to drop. Ashley goes for drinks with the band and finds its easy to be led astray. Stephen's team is worried about his being audited, until they learn why Ruth is doing it. Meanwhile, Stephen's wife doesn't want to talk to him so she sends his father-in-law to mediate. Stephen finds comfort with Maria, who gives him a kiss.

The day starts off with Maria packing her stuff to put some distance between herself and Stephen, who is meeting a client and wondering where she is. Stephen's client is an oil company buying another company in order to improve its environmental credentials. Martin thinks that the newly-installed CCTV cameras have been watching him, and wants to get rid of them. Stephen is being sued by a client who says that Euros were transposed for Pounds in a contract. Maria discovers some behind-the-scenes dealings that shed new light on the deal Stephen is trying to put together.

Stephen is battling to get a group of fashion designers to settle their dispute out of court. He persuades Annie to deal with a magazine owner who won't compromise on remaking a controversial teen magazine for the US market. Meanwhile, Martin is assigned to be the chaperone for Bring Your Child to Work Day. And Ashley takes over the account of a large pharmaceutical company, but is suspicious of their new anti-cancer drug.

On the evening of the annual summer party, Martin is trying to close a deal in which the bank has advanced the deadline, but he has to deal with an overbearing young client who has more money than sense. When Ashley discovers that there's a defect in the product his client is developing, he gets offered a bribe to ignore it. Annie discovers she is on the short list to become a partner, but had promised her husband to put his career first by working fewer hours. Then she discovers that while she's been spending the long hours at work, he's been having an affair.

It's D-Day for a number of people. Stephen's wife has asked for a divorce and he is meeting with her and her lawyer to start proceedings. Annie has a partner interview but so does Martin, who was short-listed after another candidate withdrew. And Ashley has been stalling Devalier but he can't stall for any longer. Stephen and Ashley meet Devalier and then have a secret meeting with one of the Devalier people. Cooper-Fozzard are sitting on a can of worms - but is the PG involved? Annie doesn't make partner and the bottom is starting to fall out her life.