When Phoebe asks Gary to take Michael out for a nighttime stroll so she can get some rest, father and son are nearly killed by a bomb on Whitechapel Road. Thrown through the time portal by the blast, Gary is shocked to discover Michael has also arrived in 1998. Back in 1944, Phoebe is frantic with worry and resolves to move their family to a safer neighbourhood in the West End.

Gary is moving up the social ladder in both eras, though not particularly smoothly. In 1998, Yvonne has been invited to the Woman of the Year bash at 10 Downing Street but Gary is refused entry when nobody believes he's really her husband. In 1944, Phoebe experiences the sharp end of rejection when the local West End butcher refuses to serve her, as he deems her below the standards of his regular customers.

When an unexploded bomb detonates at the entrance to Duckett's Passage, the time portal between the 1940s and the 1990s is damaged and Phoebe unknowingly follows Gary through to 1998. Meanwhile, Reg receives a blow to the head that vastly increases his intelligence, and Gary enlists Ron to look after Phoebe in 1998 and keep her away from Yvonne.