Emma Barnett lives a contented life on Shelbury Drive with her husband John, and daughter Beth. A criminal defence solicitor, Emma has a feisty streak, and generally enjoys her suburban life, despite ongoing issues with a stroppy teenage daughter.
Emma likes her neighbours; she gets on well with Alan and Sonia next door, and despite their foibles, is fond of older couple Derek and Barbara (whose son, Marcus, suddenly disappeared a few years ago). Oddball neighbour Nick over the road can be a bit of a pain, but otherwise Shelbury Drive is an idyllic place to live.
Emma and John have been planning to move, however at one of Shelbury Drive's summer street parties, Emma tells John that she wants to stay and do a kitchen extension instead. John is strangely unenthusiastic, but Emma cheerfully spreads the good news anyway.
From this point onwards, Emma's innocent extension begins to spin drastically out of control. Derek and Barbara raise objections to the project, citing their ‘precious tree' as the reason - and why does Barbara cry while watering it?
Nick also relishes sticking his nose in, worried that the noise is going to affect his sleep, and that the increased traffic will cause issues on the street. And so, he uses his obsession with CCTV to keep an eye on goings-on.
Sonia on the other hand is thrilled that her friends are staying, but her husband, Alan, less so…
Not one to be easily deterred, Emma ploughs ahead, and gets brusque builder Lee in. He's not particularly friendly, but he's cheap, and can start immediately. John, already feeling emasculated, since he's currently unemployed after leaving his job due to stress, does not like him.
Refusing to cave in to the pressure to stop the extension, Emma makes a questionable decision to get her planning permission rushed through, involving her estranged wheeler-dealer father Terry.
And while all of this is going on, Emma's career takes a complex turn when she comes up against a police officer who sees Emma as having wrecked her career.
With various secrets starting to bubble to the surface and suspicions raised, Nick posts a video from his CCTV camera on the street group chat, leading Emma to suspect that her life which up until now has seemed so straightforward is, in fact, bursting with other people's secrets…
