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.

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.

Following a four-week journey from Paris to Copenhagen, Anne finds acceptance and appreciation in Danish high society, stepping out of her sartorial comfort zone to attend a birthday ball hosted by Queen Marie. When difficult news arrives from Shibden, Anne is faced with the decision to stay in Europe or go back home.