Wentworth Prison continues to navigate a tense and volatile power vacuum following the death of former top dog, Bea Smith. The focus shifts significantly to Rita Connors, a new inmate who is secretly an undercover police officer. Her mission is to infiltrate the prison and gather evidence against Marie Winter, who is implicated in a deadly drug ring operating on the outside.
Inside the walls, the struggle for dominance intensifies. Sonia Stevens, now the top dog, maintains a facade of calm control, but her reign is built on manipulation and fear. Allie Novak, grieving and lost after Bea’s death, falls deeper under the toxic influence of Marie Winter, who poses as a benevolent friend and mentor while secretly pulling strings.
The season’s central conflict erupts with the arrival of Kaz Proctor’s murderer, known as “The Freak,” Joan Ferguson. Miraculously surviving her burial, Ferguson is found and secretly brought back into Wentworth under a new identity, “Kathryn Maxwell.” Suffering from severe amnesia, she is initially a shell of her former terrifying self, working in the prison garden. However, flashes of her old, calculating nature begin to resurface, creating an undercurrent of dread.
Rita’s undercover operation becomes increasingly perilous as she is forced to commit acts of violence to maintain her cover and protect her sister, Ruby, who is also incarcerated. Her loyalties are brutally tested, blurring the line between cop and inmate. The season builds toward a dramatic confrontation during a prison protest, where Rita’s true identity is exposed to Marie.
In a final, shocking sequence, the protest escalates into a riot. Ferguson, her memory fully returned, seizes the opportunity to orchestrate chaos. She engineers a deadly fire within the prison, trapping officers and inmates alike. The season concludes with the prison in flames, multiple lives hanging in the balance, and Joan Ferguson standing amidst the smoke, having reclaimed her position as the ultimate puppet master of Wentworth’s terror.