North and South

Margaret Hale is uprooted from rural Hampshire to a northern mill town, where her eyes are opened to the social cost of the Industrial Revolution. In Milton, Margaret forms a disagreeable first impression of the owner of the local cotton mill, John Thornton.

The workers of Milton go on strike and Margaret finds herself caught between them and the Thorntons. Tensions rise further when John Thornton brings in labourers from Ireland. Meanwhile, Margaret tells Bessy her family's secret and learns that her own mother's health is deteriorating.

Deeply hurt at the refusal of his marriage proposal, Thornton and Margaret's relationship becomes more tense and difficult. Just in time, Frederick comes home to visit his dying mother. Thornton mistakes him for Margaret's lover. As Margaret realizes that she might have been mistaking in her harsh and hasty criticism of Thornton, she has to sadly observe his opinion of her altering.

John Thornton is now in serious financial difficulty, while Margaret must deal with losses of her own. Soon she is entirely reliant on the kind Mr Bell and she prepares to leave Milton for good. Can she and Thornton put their differences behind them and acknowledge their true feelings for one another before it is too late?