Aristocratic ‘it-girl’ Charlotte Myddleton finds herself sentenced to a year in Larkhall for drugs offences and is driven past a waiting crowd of paparazzi. Gina is on reception duty and, when her PO boyfriend, Mark, takes an immediate shine to the Prada-clad new prisoner, she goes out of her way to make the procedure as uncomfortable as possible. Charlotte is appalled when she is allocated a bunk on the four-bed dorm, especially when she discovers that she will have to share a toilet with Shaz, Buki, and the newly returned Crystal.
At lunch, Yvonne makes an effort to welcome Charlotte to G-Wing. But Charlotte soon makes it clear that she has no intention of mixing with the lower classes, no matter how well they are dressed. Deciding that Charlotte needs teaching a lesson, Yvonne orders Shaz and Buki to steal her clothes when she goes for a bath. Upon discovering the theft, Charlotte goes straight to Karen and accuses Yvonne of orchestrating the theft. After losing 42 days loss of remission, Yvonne pays Charlotte a visit and threatens her with violence if she even thinks of grassing again.
Crystal is distraught to be back on G-Wing, especially because Josh has no idea of what has happened. Josh arrives back from his training course and is astounded when he sees Crystal staring back at him from behind the bars. Crystal has already revealed all to Di about her relationship with Josh, and this gives her the perfect opportunity to try to drive a wedge between them. However, despite Di’s best efforts to blacken Crystal’s character, Josh believes her claims that the drugs were planted by Shell.
Barbara notices a dejected Charlotte heading upstairs to the G2 toilets and remonstrates with Yvonne. Even Yvonne is shocked when she discovers that Buki is continuing to terrorise the new girl and quickly realises that Charlotte may have taken all the bullying she can stand. Yvonne races up to the G2 toilets and finds Charlotte trying to suffocate herself with a plastic bag. Karen commends Yvonne for saving Charlotte’s life by rescinding her loss of remission. However, she is eaten up with guilt about her behaviour towards Charlotte and makes a heartfelt apology to her when she returns from the hospital wing, promising that she will look after her from now on.
A night at the local pub and a fortuitous conversation with Gina and Mark has provided one particularly persistent journalist, Jude Longley, with the name of one of Charlotte’s cellmates. Longley contacts Buki and offers her cash and a miniature camera to photograph Charlotte inside. Buki waits until the next time Charlotte is zonked out on drugs before taking a photograph that soon hits the front page of the national newspapers. As a result of the tabloid furore, Karen orders urine tests for everyone in the dorm. For Di, this is the ideal opportunity to throw a spanner in the works by swapping Crystal’s sample with Charlotte’s. Predictably, Josh is outraged when Crystal tests positive and refuses to have anything more to do with her. Later, Di takes great pleasure in telling Crystal to clean up her act. Charlotte witnesses this exchange and regards Di suspiciously.
Shaz receives a mystery postcard from her ‘Auntie Nellie’ in Spain, but the spelling and grammar suggest that it’s really from Denny. Crystal is sceptical, sure that the postcard has been sent from no further away than a Kings Cross bed-sit. She has no way of knowing that Denny and Shell really are in Spain, sipping cocktails on the deck of a luxury yacht.
