McLeod's Daughters

- Season 1

(2001)

Tess Silverman arrives in the country after nearly 20 years in the city with dreams of selling off her share of the family ranch, Drovers Run.

Tess tries to realize some cash from Drovers Run without hurting Claire. One of the shearers Claire hired disappears; did he leave because his wife was in labour, or was he murdered?

It's time for the annual rodeo. Claire wants to ride Jack's horse Sirocco to a championship, and Tess tries to get Becky to report being raped.

Claire buys a herd of thin sheep at an auction to fatten up and resell. Jodi finds she did badly on her examination. Tess applies her mother's therapist techniques to encourage the women at Drovers Run to open up emotionally and bond.

Tess tries to improve her riding skills. Sirocco becomes severely ill. Jodi wants to go out at night and party like she thinks Becky does.

Meg and Claire discover more about Becky's home life when she temporarily returns to work at her parents' truck stop.

A feral bull is wreaking havoc at Drovers Run and Tess trades in her cappuccino machine for a dairy cow.

Tess introduces Claire to chat rooms. Jodi finds her mother in bed with Terry. A wild stallion lures Blaze away, and Claire calls the Ryans to help recapture her.

Feral pigs have attacked Roy as well as sheep and cattle, so Claire, Becky and the Ryans go hunting. Meg feels awkward about having Terry over now that Jodi knows about them.

The pain of dealing with loss grips the women of Drovers Run and each are forced to examine events - some old, some new - and find a way to deal with these emotional life-altering events.

The Drovers Run crew throw a surprise party for Jodi's 18th birthday, and she complains she is the oldest virgin in the country. But her interest in the handsome DJ doesn't lead to what she had hoped.

Jealousies and family tensions between the brothers Ryan suddenly come to light when an innocent question by Tess re-opens a very ugly wound.

When Bill Tilson decides to sell up and move to the city, Claire sees the precariousness of her own situation on Drovers Run.

There are cattle duffers working in the district. Killarney has been struck - Nick's high tech security cameras undone by rifle fire - and a flock of Claire's sheep have gone missing.

Claire and Alex endure a three hour drive to Fisher together only to be involved in a bingle with Peter Johnson who is running the seminar. He assumes Alex and Claire are a married couple and manages to rile Claire even more.

It's all fun and games at the annual hay bale race, which Alex has won every year. But Claire and the girls are determined to unseat him, even if it means bending the rules.

It is discovered that the new barmaid, Kimmy, has been copping the same abuse Becky fell victim to at the hands of Brian.

Claire is about to achieve her dream, and wants Tess to have hers - that little cafe in Brunswick she used to talk about.

When Alberto, a good looking itinerant Italian rescues Jodi from a rampant steer she falls hopelessly in love with him.

When Tess finds an old psychology textbook, she becomes obsessed with "the three levels of why": as in, "Why doesn't Alex bring me flowers?" and "Why are Jodi and Becky at each other's throats?"

Drovers Run is big, but is it big enough to handle two new city slickers? Tess is delighted when Simon and Briony, two old friends, show up for an unexpected visit.

The charges against Brian are dropped when Kimmy changes her story. Jodi gets ready for a bush polo game that is part of her Miss Gungellan quest. When Meg finds Brian dead, she and Claire are sure Becky killed him and try to protect her.