Tom Lewis

Anne Lister and Ann Walker are growing closer, but are they playing with fire? Meanwhile, the Rawson brothers step up their attempts to outmanoeuvre Anne in the coal business.

The widowed Reverend Ainsworth sets his sights on Ann Walker after arriving in Halifax and Anne Lister prepares to deal with the clergyman in her own manner, while plans for her estate lead her into trouble.

Anne and Ann are consumed by the excitement of their affair, until bad news prompts Ann Walker to reveal a crippling and compromising secret.

Anne Lister sets off for Europe, determined to escape the heartache of her doomed relationship with Ann Walker. Before she leaves she is obliged to invite Christopher Rawson up to Shibden after he insults her sister Marian publicly in his bank.

With Ann Walker's mental health in an alarming downward spiral, and her overprotective tribe of relations watching over her, Anne Lister is forced to contemplate travelling alone, despite her family's warnings that to do so would raise eyebrows.