At first, Lexie is suspected for Lou's death, but the real murderer proves to be Janet Williams. Lexie discovers she is pregnant and wants to make an abortion. Jessie plans to nail Harry Bassinger. She is helped by Tom Harley, who believes her and Lexie's story. She escapes and lets Bassinger find her. When he is going to kill her, Tom shows up and arrests Bassinger. Jessie is now pardoned, after first having convinced Lexie to keep her baby. Bob is, after all trouble, on his own request transferred.
Dan Moulton is injured and ends up in hospital, when Bongo makes a failed attempt to free Rita from Wentworth. Bongo and Roach are arrested after a robbery and taken to respectively Blackmoor and Wentworth. Also Rita's aunt, Ida Brown, ends up in Wentworth. Another new prisoner is conwoman Lorelei Wilkinson. After Lou Kelly's death, Rita is undisputed top dog, but Kath Maxwell gathers a gang around her, among others Janet Williams and Vicki McPherson, allies with Joan and challenges Rita. The struggle between them becomes unusually long. Joan sees to it that Merle Jones is transferred to H Block to act as Kath's bodyguard. Joan's house is burnt down by The Conquerors and she stays with her golf partner, Andrew Hinton.
Julie and Steve plan to get married in prison. Steve's mother, Amy Ryan, pays Joan to stop the wedding. Joan persuades Kath into drugging Julie with LSD, but Ann believes in Julie's innocence and doesn't stop the wedding. The drug was provided by Harry Parker and he gets a hold on Joan. Steve's mother pays more money to Joan, who takes support from Kath's gang in a last attempt to stop the wedding, but it takes place anyway, whenafter Julie is transferred to Barnhurst.
Three newly trained prison officers begin serving at Wentworth. One of them is Meg's son, Marty Jackson. The two others are Rodney Adams and Delia Stout. Joan has made some revelations by reading Nancy McCormack's diary. Nancy realizes this and takes revenge by inventing a bomb story. Joan triumphantly calls the police's bomb squad, but is made a laughing-stock when it proves to be false alarm. Rodney, who is over-ambitious and ruthless, soon comes into disgrace with both Ann and the women, but instead he allies with Joan.
Harry Parker demands that Joan smuggles in more drugs to the prison. She refuses and Parker then lets Andrew be murdered. The devastated Joan tells the truth to the police, a trap is arranged and Parker is arrested. He is murdered in police custody. The police let Joan get away as thank for her help. Trials are held against some of the remand prisoners: Kath gets lifetime imprisonment, Roach a few months and Ida is given a suspended sentence. Kath doesn't want to use the emotionally vulnerable Merle and thereby comes into conflict with the more ruthless Janet who soon becomes enemy with everyone and is transferred. Kath continues the fight with Rita, now with Vicki as her main ally, she also involves the naive Rodney.
Marty and Delia organize work release on a cargo-ship for Rita, Alice, Nancy and Roach. On the first trip is also Joan present as supervisor. Rita pushes Delia into the water and Marty jumps after to save her. Rita uses the confusion to make an attempt on Joan's life, but Nancy prevents it. Roach takes the opportunity to escape. Kath uses Rita's absence to take over as top dog. After her return, Rita keeps a low profile for a while, to not get the pregnant Lexie into trouble. Lexie gives birth to a baby in her cell and is soon after released. Also Nancy is released after having told the truth, since she didn't want to protect her son any longer when she found out he bashed his wife. Ann and the recovered Dan breaks off after he has fallen in love with a nurse at the hospital.
The cunning Rose "Spider" Simpson is transferred to H Block. She is an expert on smuggling in goods and to begin she co-operates with Kath. A new prisoner is blackmailer Lisa Mullins. The police hope to get important information from her and let Detective Tricia Haines, under cover-name Wendy Glover, share a cell with her. A hired assassin enters the prison and tries to kill Lisa, but she is saved by Tricia, who though has to give her cover away. Lorelei is freed at her trial. Thereafter she fights a desperate struggle to get custody of her little daughter. She takes part in a new fraud and is arrested and taken to Wentworth again. Young aboriginal woman Sarah West ends up in Wentworth for a short time. Lawyer Pamela Madigan, also aboriginal and an old friend of Ann, engages in Sarah's case.
Rita lets some Conquerors kidnap Kath out from prison, but she doesn't want to take over herself, instead lets Alice be new top dog. Spider takes the opportunity to monopolize contraband, now with Vicki as ally. Rodney traces Kath and has her arrested and taken back to Wentworth. To stop the trade with contraband, Ann allows Kath to run an official shop inside the prison, but Joan makes it possible for her to also sell illegal goods. The ousted Spider tries to sabotage the shop. Joan provokes Rita to vandalize the shop and has her transferred to Blackmoor.
On order from Blackmoor's evil Governor, Ernest Craven, Rita is welcomed by being bashed by the officers. She gets to know prisoners Michelle "Brumby" Tucker and Margaret "Spike" Marsh. Under Rita's lead they challenge top dog Roo Morgan and start a riot. Craven threatens to have Rita's brother Bongo shot and when this is executed the riot topples over and the devastated Rita lets the prisoners burn Blackmoor down.
Following the Blackmoor fire both female and male prisoners are moved to Wentworth, where Kath supported by Joan once again has become top dog. Rita, Brumby and Spike are placed at H Block. Marty recognizes his schoolmate Spike. Craven is also moved to Wentworth and allies with Joan. They plot against Ann, who is fired by the Department. Craven and Joan thereafter immediately become enemies. Joan gets the upper hand and is appointed new Governor with Craven as Deputy, although he has no intention to be satisfied with this. Craven and Rita exchange mutual murder attempts. Craven wants Lorelei as informer and lets some of the male prisoners bash and rape her. Thereafter he takes one step too much by threatening to harm her little daughter. Lorelei finds a knife and stabs Craven to death.
After Craven's death, Joan is at the peak of her power. Meg, Joyce and Marty are transferred to other prisons. Kath's shop is closed and security tightened, but Joan doesn't sense that the ground is opening under her. TV journalist Philip Clayton starts to dig into everything concerning Craven. Kath and Rita go into alliance against Joan (Rita is made top dog again in exchange for Kath having her shop back). Mervin helps the women to smuggle out a revealing video tape. Lorelei, who has been taken to mental hospital, begins to recover and tells her story. Craven's henchman, Terry Walters, agrees to tell the truth. Clayton broadcasts his revealing TV program and the Minister, Dwyer, has nothing else to do but reinstate Ann as Governor with Meg as Deputy, also Joyce and Marty get their jobs back. Joan is degraded to common officer.