Episode 1

Halifax, 1832. Anne Lister returns from Hastings to Shibden Hall, having discovered that her would-be companion and lover, the aristocratic Vere Hobart, has accepted a marriage proposal from a man. Despite her affection for her elderly aunt, Anne is frustrated by the shabbiness of her ancestral home and finds her father and long-suffering sister difficult to live with. A visit from her ex-lover Mariana Lawton compounds Anne’s fear that she is destined to be alone. However, when Anne discovers that her land is rich in coal, her plans to transform the estate soon provide a welcome distraction from her broken heart. On the neighbouring estate, Crow Nest, shy heiress Ann Walker is quietly delighted to hear that charismatic Anne Lister is back. Meanwhile, Anne’s servants and tenants have problems of their own. A hit-and-run accident on Shibden land puts a child’s life at risk, and Anne’s French maid Eugenie finds herself in trouble.