Ida McBride decides to drill for oil on her ranch, against her son Tom's wishes. A contentious crew of wildcatters arrives, including a stalwart drilling magnate, his tool-pusher and a young roughneck associate, who endeavor to save the ranching empire by trying to bring in a methane gas well.

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life will change a great deal with her arrival and his sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations.

Chris is not getting along with boyfriend Sandor and has an affair with parole officer Dennis. Dennis invites the couple to dinner with his ex-girlfriend Jan. At a picnic on the beach, Jan meets lifeguard Phil, who later sleeps with Chris and moves in with the other five. Phil brings in a person, lawyer Elaine. The "group marriage" of the six of them attracts media attention, which brings trouble and prejudice.

Miri is a promising journalist and she is married to Dan who is a very skilled lawyer. Together they have a 10-year-old daughter and a lovely home. They are a happy little family - apparently. When Miri becomes the editor of the magazine she works for in Dan for a year's offer in New York, the facade cracks. They are unable to find each other again and the family falls apart. But is it better to be away from the one you actually love? Is it satisfying to live for the job?

Nick Martin, a young street tough, has a change of heart and attempts to stop the gang violence in his neighborhood.

In Spain during the civil war. The American journalists Erin Wright and Robert Minelli enjoy their lives in bars. Then the courageous journalist Jonathan Tyler arrives - and shortly after disappears. Erin and Robert decide to continue his dangerous story and get drawn into a conspiracy.

A high school girl who needs a ride accepts one from a boy she doesn't know. He then forces her to participate in a robbery, in which a clerk is killed. They are soon caught, and the girl, despite her protestations of innocence, is convicted of first-degree murder and sent to prison. Once she gets there, she finds out that her troubles are just beginning.

Young Casey comes from a family of racehorse trainers, and his best friend, a foal called Casey's Shadow, may just be a champion.