During a visit to York, Anne is delighted when Doctor Belcombe confirms that she is the perfect tonic for Ann Walker's nervous disorder. When the news of a bereavement arrives at Cliff Hill, Ann's desperate reaction makes Anne suspect that there's more to it and that Ann has secrets of her own. As her rivalry with Christopher Rawson heats up, Anne plans to re-open her old coal mines and sink her own shaft.

Before setting off for Europe to escape the heartache of her doomed relationship with Ann Walker, Anne invites Christopher Rawson to Shibden to rebuke him for publicly insulting Marian. Undeterred by his warnings that her accusations will have dangerous repercussions, Anne comes up with a bold, reckless strategy to finally sink her own pit and expose the Rawsons' industrial-scale theft of her coal.