Nick Carter's future seemed as bleak as Oakbury's rainy, pot-holed streets when he stepped off the coach. He had come seeking a reporter's job, but bus chatter made it plain this was no place to start a newspaper career. It was a deadly dull town with more gossip than news. Council was even planning to cash in on its unenviable reputation by holding a Boring Festival.

Then there was his accidental vandalism on the coach, witnessed by the paper's owner whose son Gordon also wanted the job, and a foolish pact with his disapproving dad that could see him back in Sydney within weeks.

But a big man with a rifle and cartoon character masks has plans, too. His late-night reign of terror will shake the town and threaten Nick's life.

The wannabe cadet reporter struggles to fit into a weird new world where hoaxes, humiliations, a burning pub, suspected explosive sausage and being shot become part of a day's work. All that, plus balancing relationships with Sally, who keeps finding him unconscious at her feet, and feisty colleague Belinda.

Who will win his heart? Will the vengeful owner's son end his career? Will he survive long enough to discover who's behind the cartoon masks? And will Oakbury ever again be deadly dull, instead of flat-out deadly?