As Elizabeth nervously faces her first day of teaching, Jack must figure out which doomed miner wrote a personal message on a plank found in the mine.

When the coal company orders the town's widows to move and make way for new miners, Abigail devises a plan to keep the women in their homes.

While Jack investigates the suspicious church fire, Elizabeth tries to figure out why little Rosaleen can't speak and is terrified of miner Wendell.

Jack questions Cat about the fire after finding whale oil cans in her shed, while Elizabeth is baffled when a poor student gives her a costly gift.