An old flame of Martin's Aunt Joan sails back into her life and whisks her off her feet. But her suitor, John Slater, is seriously ill with a life threatening heart condition, as Doc Martin discovers when he insists on running tests on him. Slater wants to rekindle the love affair with Joan and sail off into the sunset with her. But Martin is anxious for Joan that she will have to nurse a very sick man. Schoolgirl Melanie Gibson, one of Port Isaac's bevy of teenage beauties, develops a crush on the doctor. He's her hero after he puts her dislocated shoulder back, and stops the agonizing pain she has been suffering. There's romance in the air between Al and Elaine. He's always had a soft spot for her. Thinking that she has split with her boyfriend, Al tries to woo her, by downloading a special selection of music onto an expensive Ipod for her.