Series 1 - Episode 4

The hospital staff have to deal with a transplant patient rejecting her new organ, a serious leg injury from a vehicle collision, a drunken Bollywood star and the Nairs have a wedding to attend for the family of Ram's oldest friend, eminent vascular surgeon Varun Kapoor. Three of these stories interlink during this busy day and there are further revelations between Ruby and Gabriel. Elsewhere, Maggie and Paul argue so he seeks solace with Greg at the bar and the two men become friends.

   At sunrise, Ruby watches a soap opera in the local language to help her learn - while doing yoga on the beach, upside down. Getting ready for work, the water from her outdoor shower has not been working for a week which she reports to Lydia. Mari is incredulous at the disparity when Ruby asks her for plot clarifications, as an intelligent and highly educated woman obsessed with a trashy TV programme. As the team begin work, a taxi driver brings in a British tourist who has become ill on the way to the airport. She vomits onto Ruby, who is then late for morning briefing seeing to her. During the meeting, Gabriel discovers that he needs to cover Ram's clinic too and complains about the short notice.

   The British patient, Vicky, at first tries to dismiss her symptoms as heat stroke or food poisoning but she knows what is really wrong and is hiding a destructive secret. Ruby finds a new surgical wound and correctly identifies the problem as a kidney transplant in rejection. But certain details of her story are inconsistent. They wonder why she is on holiday abroad during aftercare if the procedure was carried out in her home city of Leeds. Gabriel is not fooled and confronts Vicky about her involvement with the illegal organ trade. Betrayed by others, she takes it out on her Good Karma doctors for being "brown". Gabriel is angry but it is only when she insults Ruby, that he loses his temper, defending her. Ruby is horrified by his reaction and calls him unprofessional. As the argument escalates, Lydia steps in to diffuse the situation, as she has done before.

    Vicky is not Ruby's only patient. A man, identified as Rasik Davé, is also brought in. He has a serious leg injury after vehicle collision. Ruby and Mari dope him up to reset the open ankle fracture but there is vascular damage in addition to the broken bones. These need a specialist and Ram's extensive skills are not enough. During questioning by Inspector Gomez, Rasik describes seeing a silver angel but no registration plate. Without this, there is little anyone can do. At first, they dismiss his claims, thinking he is being fanciful or hallucinating on the pain medications.

    Checking on Rasik, Ruby notices that his foot is turning blue and has no sensation. Living in poverty, with no funds or insurance, they prepare for amputation rather than transferring him to Kochi. They must find the driver quickly to have any chance of a good outcome. Shanti, his wife, seems more upset. She is pregnant with their first child and has no idea how to provide for the family if her husband cannot work. Ruby tries to console her and all the doctors feel bad for them but are unable to do anything more. Ram's friend comes to visit in his Rolls Royce. Walking past, Ruby sees the angel Rasik was talking about and damage to the vehicle consistent with a recent accident.

    She goes straight to Lydia with her new information, who is delighted at her initiative. On being found out, Varun discusses the case directly with the patient who agrees to the terms. In exchange for not calling the police, he performs the more complex operation and saves Rasik's leg for free. As a top-end vascular surgeon, he is one of the few who could. Ruby is furious with the compromise and Lydia is not happy about it either, but it gets the job done so they have to be content. She warns Ruby not to report the incident. Lydia confronts Ram about his friend's actions and Ram responds with unkind words in the heat of the moment, which he regrets.

    Ruby has gone outside to calm down. Vicky approaches her to apologise for the unforgiveable behaviour and explains the circumstances. She felt the dialysis was a prison. Ruby understands, ensuring she can safely return home where her local hospital can try to save the implanted organ. Vicky is surprised that Ruby is still willing to help her by waiting until she has left before calling the police to shut down the illegal clinic. Gabriel disagrees with the decision but has learned from previous mistakes and lets Ruby do it her way.

    Meanwhile, Mari meets one of her idols. The fictional Bina Barras is a fallen Bollywood star who is visiting hospitals in the area trying to cajole pain medications for back pain. Refused the pills, she still signs her autograph for an apologetic Mari then goes to Greg's and drinks herself into a stupor. It is Ram and AJ who find her to discover she will be the Kapoor's wedding singer. After completing the surgery on Rasik, Varun takes responsibility for getting Bina to his country home for her work later that evening. All the staff are invited to the party as a thank you and Mari opts to go, with an offer to Bina of help to break the addiction. She is disappointed and leaves the party crying.

    In the beach hut, Paul and Maggie are trying to settle into their new surroundings. Paul sees a large insect which he tries to kill, causing Maggie to cut herself accidentally. After a brief argument, she kicks him out, so he wanders to Greg's and the two men strike up an unlikely friendship. They bond over a rude joke and their regional roots in the West Midlands. During the conversation, Paul reveals to a sympathetic Greg about Maggie's terminal illness. At this point, Bina arrives to use alcohol as a substitute for the drugs she wants. Although she looks familiar to Greg, neither man has any idea who she is even when she signs her name on Greg's hand. Once drinking her fill, she totters away unsteadily on heeled shoes. Feeling better, a sheepish Paul returns also drunk. He brings back a pretty shell as a thoughtful apology gift for Maggie's collection. She accepts and they agree to stop fighting.

    Also at the wedding celebrations AJ meets his childhood friend again, the forceful Samira. As sister to the bride, she is in charge of organising the lavish ceremony so mistakes him for the caterer. She warms slightly once she remembers him. He sees that her shoulder is hurting and wonders why. At the reception, AJ spills water on her to make her reveal the injury. His suspicions are confirmed - it was the daughter driving when Rasik was hit. Horrified by the lies, Ram retrieves his gift and the Nairs leave. The long-standing friendship is over and he will not be accepting the otherwise generous job offer in Mumbai. Ram instead knocks on Lydia's door with a heartfelt apology and asks to spend time with a true friend. She is pleased to see him and forgives his earlier insensitivity. However, Lydia was with Greg in secret. He knows the rules and slips out the back to hide, complaining that she is ashamed of him.

    Back at the hospital, all outpatients are cleared so the younger doctors are able to talk. She tells him that he was right and reveals the racism she experienced in England. He listens and responds with support, finishing with humour and sly grin. Ruby returns the smile, understanding her mysterious colleague a little better. Their friendship is deepening. Lydia made good on her promise and the bungalow shower is working again. Ruby is finally able to enjoy being clean in the steaming water. Seeing that Marcus has begun dating again, Ruby settles down to watch more of the soap instead of spying on him via social networking.

See IMDb. First broadcast: 26 Feb 2017 on ITV in UK.

## Production Staff

* Writer: Vinay Patel
* Director: Bill Eagles
* Producer: Stephen Smallwood

## Guest cast:

* Sarah-Jane Potts as Vicky Martin
* Narinder Samra as Inspector Gomez
* Deepak Verma as Dr Varun Kapoor
* Ashita Warwale as Samira Kapoor
* Ash Tandon as Rasik Davé
* Aditi Kakunte - Shanti Davé
* Sharon Prabhakar as Bina Barros
* Yashodha Suriyapperuma as Tuktuk Driver

Previous | Series 1 | Next