Anne Lister is drawn back into her complicated past with Mariana during a trip to Lawton Hall. Determined to draw a line under the tempestuous 20-year relationship, the women find themselves raking over past heartache. Back at Shibden with her in-laws, Ann Walker receives a visitor of her own, in a sneaky move by her meddling cousins.

Halifax is smashed to pieces by a mob hungry for political change. It’s a dangerous time to be a Tory – and a lesbian – but Anne Lister refuses to keep a low profile.