At work, Monroe has the courage to perform cutting-edge brain surgery but at home, he is afraid to admit that his life is falling apart. When Alison Bannister is admitted with a brain tumour, Monroe has to help her make a frightening decision. To go ahead with an operation could leave Alison paralysed or unable to speak, yet without surgery, she is likely to die within a few years. Does she want to survive if surgery might change who she is? And can Monroe get her through this crisis as his own life starts to spiral out of control?
As Monroe struggles to accept the fact that his wife Anna has left him, he throws himself into work and tries to pretend that his life is not in freefall. Can he find the courage to tell his son the truth about why his marriage ended? At the hospital, Monroe and cardiac surgeon Jenny Bremner have to deal with a double shooting after a 14-year-old boy accidentally shoots his 12-year-old brother before attempting to kill himself.
Monroe finds that 'civilised divorce' is much harder than he had imagined and his attempts to enter the world of dating seem doomed to failure. At the hospital, Monroe tries to persuade an epileptic man to have an operation that could stop his religious hallucinations, and Bremner is furious to find that she is the subject of gossip about her relationship with Shepherd.
When a 13-year-old girl is admitted to hospital after a road accident, Monroe believes there is little chance of saving her and an operation could leave her severely damaged. However, her father begs him to operate and give her a chance to live - whatever the consequences. The trainees face their final assessments and Shepherd considers leaving following his break-up with Bremner.
The neurosurgeon finds himself having to choose between trainees Springer and Wilson, who are both equally deserving of a place on his team, while cracks begin to show in Bremner and Shepherd's relationship. Monroe's patients include a woman with an aggressive brain tumour, which presents him with one of the most challenging cases of his career.
Monroe has informed Bremner after Shepards activites. Witney appears to have decided that its time to leave St Matthew’s. Monroe decides to throw a stag party for his son Nick. Meanwhile at the hospital Springer is introducting Jacob Namobu, a young medical student to neurosurgery. Things don't go to plan when there is a large road traffic accident.