Tom Lewis

Lister confides her hopes for a future with Ann Walker to her aunt, as Ann's neighbor Mrs. Priestley's inkling about the two women's relationship presents a threat. Meanwhile, John Booth is surprised at his own romantic success. The Rawson brothers step up their attempts to out-maneuver Lister in the coal business. Marian grows annoyed that her sister is treating Shibden like a hotel. Lister's tenant Sam Sowden's mouthy behavior causes problems for his son Thomas.

During a visit to York, Lister is delighted when Doctor Belcombe confirms that she is the perfect tonic for Ann Walker's nervous disorder. When news of a friend's death arrives, Ann's desperate reaction makes Lister suspect that she has secrets of her own. Meanwhile, as her rivalry with Christopher Rawson heats up, Lister steps up her plan to re-open her old coal mines. At Shibden, Eugenie's misfortune has implications for John Booth, and Thomas Sowden spins a risky web of lies after his father's disappearance.

The widowed Reverend Ainsworth arrives in Halifax and, with encouragement from Mrs. Priestley, sets his sights on Ann Walker. Aware that Ainsworth's attentions are stirring up memories for her lover, Lister sets out to deal with the clergyman in her own inimitable manner. Meanwhile, Lister presses on with the transformation of her estate, but her ambitious plans threaten to lead her into trouble. At afternoon tea, Marian remains impressed by Mr. Abbott, though her aunt and father are less so. A discovery in the pigsty gives Mary Sowden reason to suspect that Thomas is lying about his father.

With Ann Walker's mental state in a downward spiral, Lister is forced to contemplate travelling to Europe alone, despite her family's warnings that doing so will raise eyebrows. Aunt Anne and Captain Lister endure another visit from the irritating Mr. Abbott, while Marian remains peeved that her sister is absent once again. Lister reopens her coal-mine negotiations with the powerful Rawson brothers. Thomas Sowden's secret casts a cloud over his budding relationship with Suzannah Washington. Ann's Scottish relatives swoop in with their own ideas about what's best for her future.

Before setting off for Europe to escape her heartache, Lister invites Christopher Rawson to Shibden to rebuke him for publicly insulting Marian. Later, Lister comes up with a bold strategy to mine her own coal and expose the Rawson brothers' industrial-scale theft. In Scotland, Ann Walker becomes increasingly distressed when she discovers that her brother-in-law, Captain Sutherland, plans to marry her off to his penniless cousin. Lister travels to London with her old flame Mariana Lawton, a trip that exposes crippling memories of their past relationship. Despite his lowly social status, Thomas Sowden plucks up the courage to speak to Mr. Washington about his future with Suzannah.