Psychiatrist Jonathan Edmunds arrives to Wentworth to run a project about behaviour change on the women. Meg stops taking sleeping pills to avoid her memory lapses. But before she has made so many mistakes that put prisoners at risk so a strike breaks out. Reb outmaneuvres Margo who is transferred to high security prison Blackmoor. Reb now starts to challange Myra for top dog and gathers a gang around her consisting of Phyllis, Frances, Lou Kelly and Alice Jenkins. Rick is kidnapped by Birmingham and Mears. When they are about to execute him, a gunfight breaks out and he manages to overpower them both. Jonathan Edmunds starts dating both Ann and Meg without the other one knowing about it. Rick starts dating Rachel Milsom who is daughter of his newspaper seller, Pop Milsom. Dr Edmunds performs hypnosis and changes personality on among others Meg, Cass and Phyllis.
Myra and Judy force Reb to swollow her own drugs and she becomes so effected she has to be taken to hospital. Erica arrives and negotiates an end to the women's strike. A new prisoner arrives to Wentworth, Hannah Geldschmidt, who is an illegal immigrant pending extradition. Cass, who has been ordered by Dr Edmunds to kill Bobbie, by mistake attacks Pixie and tries to strangle her but fails. Hannah lets herself be bashed by Lou and Frances to end up in hospital and thereby having the extradition postponed. Colleen reveals that Dr Edmunds is dating both Ann and Meg. The media get to know about the Hannah story and a campaign is started to let her stay in Australia. Pop Milsom is killed by drunken driver Trevor Priest. Ann finally reveals the whole extent of Dr Edmunds' activities, at the same time as Cass tries to kill Bobbie, something that is stopped by the women and the guards. Dr Edmunds is forced to de-hypnotize his victims before the police arrest him.
Colleen sells her house for a large sum of money and she resigns. Meg and Joan apply to succeed her as Deputy Governor. Bobbie has some faintings and to her surprise it is established that she is pregnant. Colleen's last day at Wentworth becomes dramatic. Peter Secker visits Hannah under the pretext of being a relative, but he proves to be a mad nazi out to kill her. Secker takes Colleen and several of the women as hostage. He shot-wounds Ruth Shaw before the police can overpower and arrest him. Hannah is extradited, but with good hope of returning because her real relatives have showed up. Colleen leaves Wentworth for the last time and Meg is appointed as her successor.
Joan now makes everything possible to sabotage Ann's and Meg's rule. Myra finds out that Kay has severe drug problems. The women are allowed to arrange a garden party with outside visitors. Dennis Cruickshank arrives to start working as prison officer at Wentworth. Star model Leigh Templar arrives as prisoner, accused of killing har manager. Trevor Priest gets a light sentence. Rachel takes revenge by driving over and killing him. She ends up in Wentworth at the same time as Rick quits for another job. The garden party takes place. Myra dresses in civilian clothes and manages to sneak out through the gates. Joan confiscates drugs that Reb and Phyllis intended to have smuggled in. Dennis tries to stop a fight between Bobbie and Phyllis, at which Bobbie is injured and loses her expected baby. The party is stopped prematurely after all incidents. Pixie is released. Reb accuses Phyllis for the failed drug smuggling and she knocks her down with lasting brain damage as result. Cass accuses Dennis for Bobbie's miscarriage and attacks him. Thereafter she is transferred to mental hospital.
A new prisoner, Marlene Warren, and a new prison officer, Heather Rodgers, arrive to Wentworth. It shows that they know each other from school. Marie Winter is moved from Barnhurst to Wentworth. In Myra's absence, she immediately takes over as top dog and starts drug dealing. Myra finds Kay and takes her to a remote cabin where she and Wally go through with a de-toxing treatment. Joan finds a runaway little boy, Shane Munroe, who has hidden in her house and she takes care of him after having seen the boy's drunken father, Gordon Munroe. The elderly Dot Farrer is moved to H Block. Meg gets a surprise visit by her stepdaughter Tracey and her boyfriend Mark Sanders. Edna Pearson arrives as prisoner to Wentworth, accused of trying to poison her husband. Tracey and Mark take Meg as hostage to get their hands on her money. Joan and Marie ally. Tracey gets away with Meg's money while Meg manages to overpower the diabetes sick Mark.
Heather is forced to smuggle drugs into the prison after Marie has threatened to harm her family. Myra returns to Wentworth voluntarily. Dennis and Heather start dating. Joan orders Marie to start a riot to undermine Ann's position. Joan puts some sleeping powder in the officers' tea and thereafter the riot begins under Marie's lead. Bashings, vandalism and fires follow, but it is only half a success because of Ann's and Heather's heroic efforts and Reb's refusal to take part. Reb is pushed down some stairs by Marie and becomes unconscious, Bobbie gets suspected for that incident. The Department announce Ann's dismissal. Joan prepares to take over. Myra takes over as top dog from Marie. Reb returns from hospital and frees Bobbie from guilt for the attack on her. Edna is released because of lack of evidence, although we sense that she is guilty, furthermore several women have been subjected to poisoning during Edna's stay at Wentworth. The Department withdraw Ann's dismissal. Leigh is released after her trial. Wentworth gets a new cook, Ray Proctor. Joan agrees to help Marie escape. First she gives Marie the opportunity to kill Reb. Thereafter she sees to it that Marie can make a spectacular escape with the help of a helicopter that lands outside the prison.
Reb, who is badly injured by Marie's bashing, is taken to hospital and barely survives. A new prisoner, lust killer Bev Baker, is placed on Wentworth and puts fear in both prisoners and staff. Rachel is moved to a prison farm. Joan gets her hands full with the police, which question her both about the bashing of Reb and her alleged abduction of Shane. Bobbie manages to escape through the kitchen and by then climbing over the fences. After some hours of freedom she runs into Dennis and Heather who capture her. The Department decide to sack Joan. Reluctantly the officers strike for her at the request of the Union. A group of social workers, among others Phillip Cleary, arrive at Wentworth to help during the strike. Dennis breaks the strike. Bev kills one of the social workers, Rob Summerton. When she is revealed she commits suicide. Joan is given her job back and the strike is over.
A new prisoner, the young Angela Adams, arrives at Wentworth. Reb is helped by her mother, Deidre Kean, to escape from hospital. Ann begins getting anonymous threatening letters. The seemingly innocent Angel to begin with wins everyone's sympathy, but we soon begin to understand that she is not so innocent and she begins to sow dissension among the women. Reb is still so badly injured that by concern her mother gives her in to the police and they are both arrested. It becomes known that Marie Winter has been arrested and placed at Blackmoor. Joan asks her officer friend there, Cynthia Leach, to put pressure on Marie. Ann is given police protection after more threatening letters. The Union force Ann to suspend Dennis after breaking the strike. Judy and the women arrange a dance marathon to sponsor a deaf childrens' school. The dispute between Joan and Shane's father is settled in court with Shane being placed under the care of the state. Marie points out Heather for smuggling drugs. Meg and Phil start dating. Also Angel fancies him. Reb and her gang harasses Deidre. Wentworth receives a bomb threat just before the ending of the dance marathon. The women refuse to evacuate and Ann sympatheticly stays with them. Later the bomb threat proves to be false.
Heather allies with the women to set Joan up. Angel recruits Peter Wright to rape Meg and make her afraid of men and thereby having Phil for herself. Wentworth announces for a handyman and the job is applied for by Stanley Dobson and Neville Sloan who is a friend of Lou Kelly. Stan gets the job. The women finally see through Angel who is frozen out. Reb and Deidre reconcile before the later is released. Stan lets his wife, Edie Dobson, believe he is still working as a uniformed prison officer. Pixie ends up in Wentworth again after shop-lifting. Heather and the women go through with their plan by accusing Joan of sexual harassment of Pixie, but the plan fails after Lou lags to Joan. Ann is furious and Heather is immediately fired. Kerryn Davies arrives as prisoner to Wentworth, accused of fraud. Joan decides it is time to get rid of Reb once and for all and tries to push her down the stairs, however Reb defends herself and gets the upper hand but doesn't have the will to finally kill Joan.
The threats against Ann become bloody serious when the policeman that guards her house is found murdered. Reb appears as good and is highly valued by the other women, but she secretly co-operates with Lou. Angel goes completely mad and commits one insane act after another against the other women and the officers. Finally she breaks down and is moved to mental hospital. Neville pressures Stan to have him employed as his assistant at Wentworth. Reb and Lou find out about the threats against Ann and with Neville's help they start blackmailing her for money. Dot is transferred to a prison farm. The police reveal and arrest Neville. Lou manages to escape by taking Joyce hostage under gun threat. Lou seeks refuge with Deidre Kean and pressures her for money. William Coleby succeeds Erica as Head of the Department. After a heart attack Stan has to retire. Len Murphy, an experienced officer, starts working at Wentworth. Judge Sarah Higgins arrives to Wentworth, now as prisoner, accused of taking bribes. Lou is arrested in Adelaide and brought back to Wentworth.
Student Samantha Greenway is placed on Wentworth for possession of drugs. Len proves to be a real brutal character and the women try to play him out against Joan. Kerryn in a letter to her husband, Lyle Davies, admits stealing money to pay her stepson's (Lyle's son), Tim Davies, gambling debts. When Kerryn thinks he is not going to answer, she hangs herself. When Lyle receives the message of his wife's death, he crashes with the car and is killed. Three new prisoners are secretly taken to isolation.
At last, Ann's pursuer shows up. He is Phyllis Hunt's boyfriend, Brian Lowe. He kills three more police's in the guarding force and then takes Ann and Meg as hostage and keeps them captive in an abandoned warehouse. He also kills Phil who traces him. Sarah Higgins is murdered in her cell. It is never officially established, but the women find out that Frances was the perpetrator. Brian Lowe, who has booby-trapped the warehouse, falls to his death down the stairs in it. The mystery prisoners proves to be three men, Geoff Macrae, Frank Burke and Matt Delany, whose lives are under threat after they stopped a mass escape from the Woodridge prison. Bobbie tries to commit suicide with an overdose of pills, but she is saved. Police arrive at the warehouse, but one of them sets of the booby-trap and episode 500 is ended with a large explosion.
Ann and Meg survive the explosion. Myra is getting more and more isolated from the women. Meg, who is in hospital after the explosion, gets the surprising information that she is pregnant. Myra feels she has lost the women's confidence and appoints Reb as her successor as top dog. Ann returns to Wentworth after the kidnapping drama. Reb distributes drugs to the women. Joan and Reb try to carry through a plan to set Len up for sexual abuses by using Lou as bait, but the plan fails. Yemil Bakarta arrives as prisoner to Wentworth, accused of careless driving, but to start with she doesn't want to talk, no less tell her name. The three male prisoners are allowed to socialize with the women. Pixie finds Reb's and Lou's hidden drugs. Myra tricks Reb to tell her real aims as top dog into a tape and then plays it for the women. Reb sends Lou, Alice and Frances to beat up Pixie, but Myra's gang come to Pixie's rescue after Yemil has began to talk. Myra takes over as top dog again. Reb attacks Joan, and is first put in solitary, later to be transferred to Blackmoor.