Episode 1

Christmas, 1861. The March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy - and their mother Marmee prepare for Christmas without presents and without their father, a Union army chaplain away at war. Learning to appreciate the smaller things in life, the sisters strike up a friendship with their charming new neighbour Laurie and his tutor John Brooke.

After the holiday, Meg and Jo return to work in order to provide for the family. In the new year, Amy and Jo clash over an invitation to the theatre and a rash act of revenge, but a life-threatening event encourages them to put their differences aside.

During the summer Beth struggles to overcome social anxiety and Meg grows closer to John. As autumn of 1862 sets in, the family receives the terrible news that Mr March has been taken ill in an army hospital in Washington DC. The girls anxiously await news of their father's fate as Marmee, accompanied by John, rushes to his side.