Despite mutual acquaintances begin to chatter about their relationship, Anne confides her hopes for a future with Ann Walker to her aunt. Meanwhile, the Rawson brothers step up their attempts to out-maneuver her in the coal business, and Marian grows annoyed that her sister is treating Shibden like a hotel.

The widowed Reverend Ainsworth arrives in Halifax with his sights set on Ann Walker's hand in marriage. Aware that Ainsworth's attentions are stirring up painful memories for her lover, Anne sets out to deal with the clergyman in her own inimitable manner. However, she soon realizes that there are greater demons inside Ann Walker's troubled mind.

With Ann Walker's mental health in an alarming downward spiral - and her overprotective relatives watching over her – Anne Lister is forced to contemplate travelling alone, despite her family's warnings that to do so would raise eyebrows. Meanwhile, Anne reopens her coal-mine negotiations with the Rawson brothers, and Thomas Sowden's secret casts a cloud over his budding relationship with Suzannah Washington.