Tracy Beaker has published a book, but later she is arrested by the police for using Cam's credit card to publish it. At the police station, Tracy meets Liam and an old friend, Mike. Cam later drops the charges, but Tracy needs a job so she can repay back Cam's money. Mike offers Tracy the job at the Dumping Ground, but Gina thinks Tracy is trouble since she was arrested.
It is Tracy's first day at the Dumping Ground and already she is late for work. She made a promise to the kids, but she breaks it and upsets Gus on his guided tour. Tracy then finds a letter from her real mum in the filing cabinets in the office that was hidden when Tracy was in the Dumping Ground and which Mike and Cam have been hiding for years. Liam returns to the Dumping Ground after being kicked out by his foster parents, and Lily is jealous when Carmen begins mothering Poppy and Rosie.
Toby is convinced that he is jinxed, but Tracy tries to prove that there is no such thing has bad luck and Toby will be meeting his new foster family. Tracy writes an article about Toby called "Bad Luck Boy", but ends up regretting her actions when she finds out that Toby's parents died in a car crash for which he has blamed himself ever since. Meanwhile, Sapphire has got concert tickets from her dad, but Gina won't let her go because her dad is irresponsible.
When Tracy is told to enforce the cleaning rota, Johnny believes it will get him and his sister, Tee, fostered and starts volunteering himself and Tee for everyone's chores in return for gold stars in his file. But Tracy's attempt to deal with the situation results in Tee getting injured, and she is forced to reconsider her future at the Dumping Ground, whilst Johnny realises he has anger problems. Meanwhile, Liam and best friend Frank try to make money by selling copies of Tracy's book, but the books end up being taken away to the recycling centre.
When Lily and her sisters get fostered, Carmen's loneliness puts her into conflict with the other residents when they shun her due to having problems of their own. But a devastated Carmen takes this personally and plots revenge on everyone, prompting Tracy to take actions to unite the kids.
Gina is out, and Mike is sick leaving Tracy in charge of a night shift. Gina doesn't trust her because things will go bad when Tracy is around with kids. In the Dumping Ground, things have gone bad: Liam and Frank have gone out selling pizzas; Carmen and Tee's bedtimes have been shifted; Sapphire asks Tracy if she can have a bolt for the door of her room and, when Tracy agrees, takes the bolt off the toilet door; Gus's room is wrecked by Sapphire; and Gus pees in the wastepaper bin in Sapphire's bedroom. Can Tracy resolved this problem or will she get sacked?
Tracy finds stolen video games in Sapphire's room and soon discovers they don't belong to her. Meanwhile, Liam and Frank find out that Gus's notebooks are filled with people's secrets, through which Liam, Frank, Gina and Mike find out a lot more about each other. Tracy then discovers that Sapphire's boyfriend, Ferris, has been stealing the goods and giving them to Sapphire to hide in her room; after Ferris tells Tracy what happened, Ferris decides to take back what he stole and they both go back to the Dumping Ground. When Tracy calls a police officer she knows to come and discuss her newspaper columns, Ferris gets the wrong idea when the officer arrives at the Dumping Ground and claims that Sapphire stole the games. After much arguing, Ferris finally owns up to what he did and is taken away along with the evidence. Gus finally finds out that people have been reading his notebooks, but surprisingly says that they can look at them whenever they feel like – but only with his permission first.
Following an incident with her foster parents about the custody of Rosie and Poppy, Lily is sent back to the Dumping Ground. Tracy tries to show Matt and Christie Perry that Lily has learned her lesson, but Lily becomes maternal again and shouts at Matt and Christie for giving Poppy tuna. Meanwhile, Tee hides a sheep in the Dumping Ground, and Gus is desperate to get to his orchestra audition on time. Tracy decides to take Lily to Rosie and Poppy's new home to try to get the foster parents to see that Lily wants to be a family, but this all goes wrong as Lily then shouts at the foster parents for giving Poppy tuna, which Lily says she doesn't like. Lily accidentally makes her sisters cry, and the foster parents tell Tracy and Lily to never return to their house. Finally, Gus gets to the audition on time, but is too late to start, so Tracy takes them back to the Dumping Ground where the people from the auditions come to the Dumping Ground to see Gus finally play. Meanwhile, Tee enlists Sapphire's help in acquiring a pet sheep, but soon realises it is too much for her.
Toby and all the other boys at the Dumping Ground have to lie about being a family when they win a free holiday to Florida. However, the competition announcer, Terrie, tricks them into buying the holiday with Mike's credit card. Meanwhile, Tracy is learning how to drive under Cam's guidance, and Carmen is determined to cheer Lily up so she decides to get her a hamster named Mr. Hamster in order to make her happy again. Toby and the other boys decide that they have been scammed and they break into Terrie's office and Toby steals the memory stick with all Terrie's files on it containing past clients' information. Terrie chases after them, but Toby phones Tracy while taking her driving test to drive them back to the Dumping Ground. When they return, Mike has already discovered that they had used his credit card. Terrie follows them back to the house and orders Toby to give back the memory stick he stole and says it was his fault for telling them that he was over 18, but listening back on the phone conversation this turns out to be untrue and Terrie is finally defeated and gives back Mike's money. To make Toby happy about not winning the holiday, Lily and Carmen give Mr. Hamster to him.
Carmen's mother, Helen, turns up at the Dumping Ground wanting to see her daughter, but Carmen refuses to see her after many years ago, Helen Howle left Carmen for her boyfriend Lee. Helen tells Mike that she has changed her ways. After having a talk with Lily, Carmen decides to go out shopping with Helen. Helen asks Carmen to come and live with her in Spain, she gives Carmen some time to decide to take the offer or to leave it. Mike tells Carmen that she can go and live with Helen if she wants to. Meanwhile, Tracy, Mike and Gina trick the kids into thinking there's been a power cut, because there's been a lot of arguments, so they all have a barbecue as a family. Carmen decides that she should take the chance and go and live with her mother in Spain, but before leaving, Helen's old boyfriend, Lee, phones her and Helen tells Carmen that Lee and her have decided to give the relationship another go and that Carmen can come and live with them when they buy a bigger place. Carmen and Mike then order Helen to leave the Dumping Ground once and for all, but Tracy wants the last word and tells Helen that she has always been thinking of herself, that she is selfish, and tells Helen to go back to Spain and never return to the Dumping Ground.
When playing a simple game of football, Carmen goes to fetch the ball which has been kicked into the bush, but then sees something that looks like a werewolf in the bush which makes her scream. Mike investigates the bush to see if anything is inside it, but finds nothing. Carmen insists that the monster is alive and is hiding somewhere. Sapphire later finds out that the "werewolf" is none other than her brother, Riff Fox, who has run away from home to see her. Sapphire tries to hide Riff from everyone, but all the kids except Carmen soon find out and they all decide to keep the secret from Gina and Mike. Carmen then spots Riff for a brief second and asks who it is, but Sapphire tells her that it is a ghost that lives in the Dumping Ground so Carmen decides to lock herself in her room until everyone believes her stories are true. Riff decides to follow his heart and find his father. Sapphire tries to make Riff stay, but ends up agreeing to go with him, but when Tracy spots them at the bus stop, Sapphire realises that the Dumping Ground isn't all that bad. Riff decides to go back home, but before he does he gives Sapphire his new phone and tells her to ring him at any time. Just as they hug each other, Carmen walks downstairs and, seeing Riff for the first time, shouts "Ghost!", thinking that he is still the ghost.
Mike takes everyone to the beach for a day. But the journey is very bad. Service station mayhem, petrol pandemonium and sat-nav mess abouts. But all that is about to pay off when the gang finally get to have a day at the beach.
Tracy is offered a job in London to become a full-time reporter, but she has to write a test article on the kids in care. When she tells the kids, they lose their tempers and refuse to help her because they all want her to stay. Mike asks Cam to consider fostering one of the other kids if Tracy leaves, but Cam says she can't if Tracy doesn't get the job because the kids won't co-operate. Johnny overhears this conversation and wants to be fostered by Cam so he and Tee help Tracy. Lily refuses to help as she thinks that if Tracy goes; then she can't get back with Poppy and Rosie. Johnny confronts Lily and tells her Tee will help Tracy Lily then comes back with "You don't decide what Tee does" and then they argue until Johnny says "Just cos' you lost your sister don't start poking your nose in with mine", Lily gets mad and starts hitting Johnny. (However, unlike in Drained where Johnny retaliates when Carmen attacks him, he doesn't lay a finger on Lily. Instead, he looks really upset with what he's done.) Eventually, every child helps Tracy in secrecy so no other children know. Tracy takes the article to the editor who gives her the job. Surprisingly, Tracy turns down the job, claiming that the Dumping Ground is the place she wants to be, saying that she would miss the kids too much. Despite this, the article is published in the newspaper,and the kids realise they all helped, and Tracy is welcomed back to the Dumping Ground once more.
The Dumping Ground in threatened with closure when the Council impose sweeping budget cuts. Meanwhile, Lily is feeling left out by Matt and Christie. Christie takes Lily to the Dumping Ground, where Carmen tells Lily that if she stays with her foster family, the council might reconsider closing Elm Tree House. But Lily wishes to stay at the Dumping Ground, as she feels she doesn't fit in at the Perrys'. Can Tracy save Elm Tree House with a Tracy Beaker Plan? Or will the young people be sent to Burnywood?
The Dumping Ground re-opens and Mike is suspended due to investigation about Lily's fall from the roof in the previous episode. Lily successfully recovers the fall and is moved out of hospital when Cam decides to foster Lily. Tracy brings Lily back to the Dumping Ground for a visit, but Carmen and Sapphire now hate her for supposedly causing them to move to Burnywood. Mike is later taken into court for a hearing.
When Lily moves into Cam's house, Tracy starts to feel jealous as she is used to having just the two of them together and now she feels Lily has all the attention. Tracy decides to get a night job at a cafe to put her mind elsewhere. Meanwhile, everyone at the Dumping Ground starts to have their doubts about Toby returning to the care home so everyone decides to take all of his stuff to keep. Toby starts talking to a girl named Sara at the comic book store and realise that the two have very much in common, but when Toby tells her that his parents are still alive and that he has two sisters, Sara tells Toby that her mother had died. Toby then returns to the Dumping Ground realising everything he owned has gone. Can Tracy be a proper sister and can Toby tell the truth?
Two refugees named Ade and Dayo are left at the Dumping Ground and Gus tries to find out what their story is. Lily decides that she wants to visit the Dumping Ground, and Tracy decides to bring Tee and Carmen back to her house to see her. Ade and Dayo reveals that their parents had been killed by men with guns and they both ran and hid in a rubbish dump. Tracy brings Tee and Carmen back to Cam's house and they all organise a fashion show. Mike receives a word from Immigration Control that they are coming to take the two boys away – or are they?
When a big bag of cash is dumped in the garden, Liam, Frank and Toby decide to hide it in their bedrooms, only to be found by Carmen and the rest who take a share of the money to hide in their rooms. Toby meets his social worker, Seth, and thinks that he is one of the people getting the money back. Liam and Frank decide to spend their share of the money on a new television, but end up running from security. Two police officers arrive at the Dumping Ground to search for the money, but after searching the garden, the police officers find no trace of the money. What will the kids do?
A new girl called Elektra arrives at the Dumping Ground. But she ends up stealing and threatening to do something to the kids if they tell the adults what she has done. After she becomes the most popular person there, she tries to steal even more money and possessions by starting a gang (SETA). Tracy and Sapphire accidentally use the pasta sauce for the curry, and then go out shopping for food. They go and have sausages and then they find out that they have no money for a bus ride home. Elektra eventually cuts the leg off of Harry's toy giraffe, Jeff. Sapphire, being close friends with Harry, finds out about this and fights Elektra on the upstairs landing.
Johnny and Tee have a chance to go and live with the Watsons. Things don't work out though, as the Watsons think that Johnny dominates Tee. Mike and Tracy tell Johnny that it wasn't his fault, but he reads his file and finds out it was. He decides that Tee should go and live with the Watsons without him. Johnny tries to phone Tee every day, but stops because Mr. Watson told him so. When Tee discovers what Mr. Watson has done, she is disgusted and returns to the Dumping Ground.
Mike and Gina have planned the weekend in the countryside to perfection. That is, until Gina twists her ankle and can't join in with the activities. While Liam and Elektra tease each other about who is going to win, Tracy is made the new leader of Gina's team, with the other team leader being Mike. Feeling that Tracy and Harry are slowing down the team's chances of winning, Elektra changes the direction from right to left, so that Tracy ends up leading their team the wrong way. Elektra then sets off with Toby and Carmen, after telling Tracy that she can't lead them anywhere. While the other team is more confident, danger comes in Tracy's team when Carmen falls over a bridge and Jeff is confronted by a poisonous snake.
Tracy takes Lily out shopping, but unexpectedly Lily's dad shows up to say sorry. Lily wants to get some answers from him, so she and Sapphire follow him to his hotel without telling Tracy. Lily then reveals that she wants to stay with her dad. But is Steve ready yet? Tracy is upset about this, as she loves Lily as her little sister, but Cam says that both of them never really had her, and that they are just giving her back. Meanwhile, Liam, Frank, Toby, Carmen and Tee are trying to scare each other, but they always end up scaring someone else — including Mike and Gina. In the end, Mike and Gina give them a fright.
Liam and Frank are out and Liam starts 'messsing around' on a mobility scooter and gets caught. Liam has to go to court and is told that his punishment is seven days' work in an old people's home. Realising he is lucky he didn't have a more serious punishment and so agrees to do it. But there is a scammer at the nursery home. Liam is out to find what is going on. Meanwhile, everyone at the Dumping Ground are joking about Gus dating Jenny.
Elektra's old friend Kali turns up, and it seems she and Elektra were in a gang called Cobras who weren't very nice and Kali went to prison. But when she and Elektra sneak out, Kali seems like she is back to her old tricks with a gang of new Cobra members. Kali persuades Elektra to run away with her and the gang, so Elektra goes to pack her things. Toby tries to stop her, but she goes anyway. Meanwhile, Gina is preparing for a dance night, but finds that her dancing is being mocked by the children so decides not to go. Liam, Frank, Johnny, Carmen and Tee try to force Gina to go dancing.
Frank is ready to go fishing with his grandad when he learns, to his distress, that his grandad died nearly a week earlier, and the funeral has already been held. At his granddad's grave, Frank vows to get him a headstone and to get money, sells his only family heirloom—the antique pocket watch his grandad gave him—to a dodgy antiques dealer. When Frank returns with the money, he gets more bad news: his grandad is buried in a multi-occupancy pauper's grave and isn't allowed a headstone. However, Tracy comes up with a cunning plan to make the dealer part with the heirloom.
When Cam goes to New York for four weeks, Tracy is finding it hard to live alone. Cam is offered a six-month contract over in New York. Meanwhile, a friendship blossoms between Carmen and Elektra, but is soon ruined when Lily returns and that Carmen had asked Elektra to give her necklace back, so she could then give it to Lily as a welcome back present. Jealous Elektra begins to bully Carmen. Tracy doesn't feel well and the rest of the others try to make the longest paper chain.
When a fire breaks out in Burnywood, four young children and their mysterious care worker, Dennis Stockle, arrive at the Dumping Ground. Carmen recognises one of the children as a boy called Tyler who nicked all her stuff at Burnywood and the person who bashed her. Since Sapphire has moved out, Rick and Tyler sleeps in Sapphire's room and Kitty sleeps in Toby's since he got fostered. Carmen finds out that someone has used all her shampoo and put glue in her hair while Tracy tries to help Kitty settle in. Later, Johnny's money is stolen and he thinks Lizanne has stolen it because she was the only one who saw it. Dennis searches everywhere, but the money can't be found. But things have gone worse when Tracy falls down the stairs and Dennis sees an opportunity to take over the running of the Dumping Ground.
Dennis Stockle has taken over the Dumping Ground, and there are notices everywhere banning everything allowed before "By Order of Dennis Stockle". A fire breaks out in the attic. Dennis thinks Harry is responsible because he was playing with joss sticks, but it wasn't. Gus's notebooks have been burnt and Dennis locks the attic. Tracy and Gus start an investigation into the fire and enter the attic, but Gus falls through the floor and lands on Lily's bed. Dennis fires Tracy, and subsequently tries to frame Lizanne for the fire at Burnywood. It is revealed that Dennis started the Dumping Ground fire by smoking in the attic and when found out he is forced to resign his job.
There is a storm and a escaped prisoner. Tracy is left in charge of the kids when Mike goes to get some torches. They all think the prisoner has entered the house when the front door is open and there are muddy footprints on the floor. They take a search, but find nothing. Tee and Lily go to the cellar to try and solve some riddles, but Carmen will not go because she is scared. A figure goes past Carmen's door and she screams. Gus's room also gets wrecked.
Liam is scammed with some unauthorized DVDs and wrecks the stall where he bought them. Fleeing, he bumps into a woman who thinks he is a mugger. The stallholders leave him to get arrested and Liam is punished with a curfew and electronic tag – if the alarm goes off three times, Liam will be sent to a youth offenders' institute. Liam gets a letter from a big brother he didn't even know he had. Liam finds out that his brother was actually the one selling the DVDs.
Hoping to re-unite the family, Lily has coached her dad Steve in all things Poppy and Rosie in readiness for his first meeting with them. But, having no memory of their dad, Poppy and Rosie run out crying. Convinced Steve would do better without official interference, Carmen and Tee help Lily plot a second meeting between Lily and her sisters — without telling anyone her dad will be there too; Tracy is persuaded to take the girls to the park where Steve is waiting with a picnic spread. Meanwhile, Frank secretly adopts a three-legged dog that follows him back to the Dumping Ground, which the kids name Shadow. When Shadow pees in his bedroom and gives him fleas, Frank takes it to Sapphire who refuses to adopt it. Fortunately, Shadow finds a new home with Steve and Lily.
The kids want a new computer, but Mike will not get one until they prove they can look after their things. So Tracy sets an 'egg sitting' challenge; the kids team up in pairs to look after an egg without smashing it. Meanwhile, Sapphire tells Harry, who is visiting her at her flat with Carmen and Tracy, that she is not his mum and he has to get used to her not being at the Dumping Ground. Carmen offers to be his mum instead and back at the Dumping Ground they team up for the egg challenge. Harry soon asks why he and Jeff (Harry's toy giraffe, which he takes everywhere) can't go back and live with his real mother, and Tracy explains that his mother used to hurt him.
Justine Littlewood, Tracy's arch-enemy from her time in care, arrives at the Dumping Ground, wanting Mike to give her away at her wedding as she is marrying Charlie, who is actually a sleazy conman. Charlie ends up running into Rick, but bribes him to keep his mouth shut with a new computer, which everyone was trying to get in the previous episode, Eggs. Justine arrives in shock that after years of wanting to leave, Tracy actually works where they both grew up. After asking Mike if he can give Justine away at the wedding, Mike asks why her real dad can't, she responds by saying that Mike's like a dad to her and her dad already said no. He accepts. All the kids come in, and are judging her by what Tracy said in her book.
It is the annual care home certificate awards, where each child gets given a certificate so the children can feel special about themselves. Normally, Mike would make the certificates, however disaster strikes so Tracy has to do it this year. Tracy made one for everyone but Johnny, as she couldn't think of one to describe him as other than 'Clean and Tidy'. Johnny stands on the other side of the door, overhearing the conversation; seeking revenge he turns to Elektra for help. Meanwhile, Sapphire arrives and finds out she didn't get an award, as the awards are based from last year. Angry at being humiliated, Sapphire storms home where Johnny and Elektra are already at her flat. Johnny wanders off to another person's apartment where there are loads of stolen phones, games etc., but the occupants turn out to be robbers and grab him; they smash a painting of the Dumping Ground made by Sapphire. The bullies aim to carry out a robbery and pick one of the trio to do the work for them. Johnny picks himself. The bullies warn Sapphire and Elektra that if they follow them, Johnny will be hurt...
Everyone’s off to a farmhouse in the country for the start of the annual Dumping Ground holiday. But when Tee accidentally leaves the field gate open and the sheep get into the farmer's house, the farmer throws everyone out. Tensions build as the young people take their anger out on Tee. She tries to make it up to them by looking for another holiday. Meanwhile, Lily is planning to go to Wales where her dad is camping out for the holidays, and persuades Carmen to come with her. Tee finds out when she sees them looking for coach times to Wales, and Lily and Carmen blackmail her into not telling. Tee gets worried with guilt, and she tries to get advice from Gus, without telling him that they've run away.
Elektra's sister Melissa arrives, announcing that she is getting married and wants Elektra to be her bridesmaid. Melissa takes Elektra shopping to get a new dress and says she wants Elektra to visit their mum and dad; she agrees, and takes Tracy with her. However, Elecktra ends up having a huge argument with her mum and dad because they had not told Melissa's soon-to-be husband that she is in care (having told him instead that Elektra was away at boarding school), and goes back to the Dumping Ground. Meanwhile, Sapphire comes back due to a flood at her flat and gets angry very quickly.
Jody Jackson arrives like a whirlwind — dirty, smelly and taking no attitude from anyone. With the Dumping Ground full, Jody must share with Carmen, threatening Lily’s respite care. Carmen doesn't like this arrangement and when Jody borrows her cardigan when she feels cold, Elektra locks Jody in the toy cupboard to stop the fighting which is happening in the living room where she is watching TV. Seeing as she doesn't fit in, Jody runs away back to her home – only to find her mum and brothers have abandoned the house. Meanwhile, Mike cancels Lily's respite care, since her dad is coping well, but Tracy feels that Lily is upset about this arrangement.
Mike is stunned by the news that he’s been nominated to receive an MBE and everyone is excited about a potential trip to the Palace. But when Mike discovers he can only take three guests along with him, Tracy comes up with a plan to let the young people democratically decide who should go with him. Elektra also bribes her way to go to the palace, as she plans to ruin Mike's big day. She also involves Rick, who hates the Queen (as his parents are in prison), and will do anything to annoy her. Rick calls down Gus to join the kids, and finds out that it was Gus who had recommended Mike for the MBE. The children decide that Harry (along with Jeff, of course), Gus and Tracy should go to the Palace.
Tracy is leaving the Dumping Ground and everyone has a party. Mike hires a new girl called Melanie Jay, and she saves Jody's life as Jody goes into anaphylactic shock after eating nuts; Jody is taken to hospital. When Sapphire says she wants to move back into her flat, Tracy and Sapphire make their way to the flat to protest against the council, who have sold the building off. Mike follows them and orders Sapphire to leave. Tracy and Mike argue. When Tracy exits the flat, she slams the door and the ceiling collapses on Mike. Luckily, Tracy saves Mike and she is glad that he is all right. Tracy and Mike say a tearful farewell. How far can Tracy go? Tracy Beaker will always be part of the family.
