Established co-anchor Helen Neville is sick of playing second fiddle to her colleague Geoff Walters and demands more as she and reporter Dale cover the Challenger Space Shuttle launch.
The newsroom prepares for the return of Halley's Comet. Geoff asks Noeline to help with a speech for his 60th birthday, and Helen is failing to cover up her fragile mental health.
Helen gets the green light for an interview with an HIV-positive mother and gives the assignment to Dale, but things go horribly wrong in the edit suite, leading to angry protests.
Dale visits Helen's house to attempt a reconciliation, but finds his belongings on the doorstep. After a frosty few days of avoiding each other, work forces them back together.