In 1832 in West Yorkshire, England, the cradle of the evolving Industrial Revolution, landowner Anne Lister is determined to save her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, even if it means bucking society's expectations. In addition to reopening the coal mines, a part of Lister's plan to help her family is to marry well. However, the charismatic, single-minded Lister, who dresses head-to-toe in black and charms her way into high society, has no intention of marrying a man. The series examines Lister's relationships with her family, servants, tenants and industrial rivals, and would-be wife.