Rory Connor has ambitions but realises he will not get there as a rent collector and sets out to gamble his way ahead. To get enough money for a big game Rory borrows it from the safe at work. After the game Rory is beaten and left for dead. When he regains consciousness days later he finds that John George has been arrested for theft from his employees and sent to prison leaving a pregnant girlfriend.

After marrying his fiancé, Janie, Rory moves into the boat yard along with brother Jimmy. However, they find out that it is Rory who is guilty not John George. Janie goes back to work to spite Rory but on a trip to France her boat is lost at sea. Rory does not grieve for long and falls for Charlotte who is now his boss, they marry and she becomes pregnant. What Rory does not know is that the Pittie brothers are out to destroy him.

When Janie turns up after two years Rory decides it is Charlotte he loves. But they do not have any time to go to the authorities as the Pittie Brothers have set the boat yard alight with Jimmy inside. Rory saves Jimmy but dies himself a few days later. His funeral is a big occasion as he is now a hero.

Emily is happy in her work as housekeeper to Mr. and Mrs. McGilby, and is able to keep an eye on her sickly sister Lucy while their father is away at sea. Everything changes with the death of Sep McGilby's invalid wife and nobody more so than the widower himself, who kicks over the traces of his old life and asks Emily to marry him. Although she is not in love with Sep, she can see a good life with this caring man and accepts his proposal. However, their wedding plans come to an abrupt and tragic halt when Sep is killed in a dockyard accident. Emily and her sister are thrown out of the McGilby home, but not before Emily has found the beautiful jewelled watch which Sep had promised her as a wedding present. Desperate for work, the girls take their aunt's advice and head for the hirings at Fellburn market. Emily is offered the post of housekeeper at Croft Dene House, but as the girls approach their new home they begin to wonder just what they have let themselves in for.

Life at Croft Dene House is not easy. Birch's wife Rona is bed-bound, the couple are constantly at loggerheads, and household retainer Abbie is out to cause trouble. If that wasn't enough, a ghost is reputed to walk the house. However, Emily's zest for life soon infects the household. Rona's simple brother Con gives the girls a warm welcome and even the taciturn Birch begins to soften, offering to send Lucy to a sanitorium when her health deteriorates. The reason for the local villagers' hostility to the family soon becomes clear Con has been accused of making local girl Nelly Barker pregnant. When rumours start that he has now got Lucy pregnant, feelings run even higher. Soon after the birth of Nelly's child, Emily and Con visit the village for supplies. The villagers set upon Con and chase the terrified boy to the top of the cliffs. Despite Emily's desperate attempts to save him, he falls to his death.

Left with nothing but a small allowance and deserted by Lizzie Rowan, Birch reluctantly latches onto Emily. He makes it clear that he will never marry her, but she happily moves into his rundown cottage and the pair become lovers. As she determines to make a go of things, he becomes increasingly morose and refuses even to collect his allowance. Emily walks to the village for food and is struggling back with her purchases when she meets the new owner of Croft Dene House, the charming Nick Stewart. He is obviously attracted to her, and offers her a lift, which she refuses, knowing it would anger Birch. Much to her disappointment, Sep's watch is sold for only 20. She hides the money, but Birch discovers it and blows the lot on drink. Emily meets Stuart again and happens to see the watch for sale at an astronomical price. As Stuart tries to calm her down, they are spotted by Lizzie Rowan, who wastes no time in passing the news on to Birch.