Yorkshire in the 1880's: Joe Skinner marries Lily Whitmore, the woman he has long admired, to give a name to her illegitimate child by Lionel Fillmore, the opportunistic son of an impoverished aristocrat. Lionel, however, has his sights set on Victoria, the naive cousin of hard-working Bridget Mordaunt, and the wealth he wrongly assumes is hers. When Joe's shiftless brother Fred threatens his marriage plans, Lionel murders him and the blame falls on Joe. Bridget's warm regard for Joe sets her on a quest to prove his innocence, the pursuit of which reveals the sordid manipulations and evil that surround Lionel. Just when Lionel believes his crime will never be discovered, Douglas, his gentle sculptor brother finds the murder weapon---and the killer's identity.
When the case against Darryl's associate Trevor Mimms is thrown out of court due to unreliable evidence from Inspector Tatum - who arrested Darryl and Chris - the sisters wonder if their lads might have been fitted up by Tatum and start a campaign to free the Chigwell Two. Tracey goes on daytime TV and finds a lawyer to fight the case but she comes to realise that she may be kidding herself. Dorien is unsympathetic until Marcus is arrested as a suspected drugs baron. When Trevor gets sent down for another robbery the sisters realise the truth but he does give them a Christmas bonus, as do Tatum and, after Marcus's name is cleared, Dorien.
