Saturday, 10 May 2008
7.30pm

When Louisa Atherton's (Kerry Armstrong) wealthy husband Jack drops dead in the arms of another woman, she thinks things can't get any worse - until she discovers that he has left her bankrupt and homeless.
Retreating into denial, Louisa is ill-equipped for the emotional fallout. Rainbow's End is the only place left for her to run to, and so she does, she runs home to her mother, Minna (Julia Blake).
Coming to recognise her estranged relationship with her mother, Louisa learns that her own daughter Holly (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence) needs a strong and supportive mother - the kind Louisa has never been. Jack's death has caused Louisa to look in the mirror, where she sees she has to face some bitter home truths - the failure of her marriage, her unpreparedness for responsibility and the alienation of her daughter.
Her plans for the future and any financial security now rest with the only asset she has left in the world, a tumbledown old shack on the outskirts of Rainbow's End. The shack has acquired a place in local folklore as the one-time home of Mary Kelly, widow of a gold miner, who was murdered in her bed by thieves searching for the legendary gold nugget said to be buried on the property.
Of course the nugget was never found and the ghost of Mary is still said to haunt the place. This is of no concern to Louisa. She will knock down the shack, rebuild, sell, be cashed up and back sipping long macchiatos in the city in no time. But Rainbow's End has other plans for Louisa Atherton…
Bed of Roses is a six-part series also starring Caroline Gillmer, Kaarin Fairfax, Jay Laga'aia, Geoff Morrell and Dina Panozzo.