Annie Quaintain is turfed out of home when her schoolmaster husband's passing leaves her widowed and penniless. Shunned by society, and with no family to turn to, Annie is desperate for a place for her and her children to stay. When she hears of jobs going in Culverdale Valley where an enormous viaduct is being built, she sets off with her children Martha and George for the promise of a new life in the vast expanse of the Yorkshire dales. Their journey takes them to a remote shanty town called Jericho, home to a community of navvies.

Just as Annie and her family are starting to put recent events behind them, Bamford, the railway detective hired by Charles to find out who sabotaged his viaduct, returns to Jericho looking for Redhugeen. Bamford is now certain that Red was behind the explosion and wants him tracked down and punished. With Bamford sniffing around, Annie, Johnny and George are terrified that their deadly secret will be exposed.

In her desperation to protect George, Annie unwittingly opens the door for Bamford to get a step closer to her family and to the truth. When George goes missing it looks like Annie's best-laid plans have backfired. Annie has to find George before his disappearance draws unwanted attention their way.

With the cloud of Bamford no longer hanging over the town, Coates now has the reins of Jericho firmly in his grasp. But in a bid to protect its inhabitants from rogue traders, Coates makes himself fierce enemies, which will have grave consequences for not just him but for the whole of Jericho.

Bamford's departure also means that Annie and her family can begin to settle down. With her regular money coming in from her lodgers, George employed by Coates and Martha earning a wage at the tavern, Annie's main concern seems to be batting-off the not unwelcome attention of Johnny Jackson. But any closeness between them is soon shattered by terrible news - Martha has fallen sick with fever. And the fever is spreading.

Johnny feels increasingly isolated as the truth about his identity spreads like wildfire throughout the town; his family want him gone, his friends shun him because they feel deceived and Coates now sees him as a rival. Even Annie is keeping her distance. After George saw them together she's kept away from him in an attempt to reconcile with her son.

Having failed to persuade George to move home Annie decides to take a different tack. Jericho is now her home plus it's a place of opportunity. She decides to expand her business and set up a canteen and in doing so she hopes to win her son back.

The pressure is on for Charles and Isabella. With no hope of outside investment, and with horns still locked with Johnny, money for the viaduct is running out and wages need to be paid. When Charles announces that wages will be delayed, the navvy workforce is up in arms and calls a strike. How long can Charles ignore this problem and will he find the cash in time to keep the men from revolting?

It's time for George to move back into Annie's hut after his time living with Coates at the Steam Truck. But it's obvious that George has things on his mind, and memories of his family's old life still haunt him. Memories that mightn't be all they seem. Annie has buried a dark secret about her family's past that looks to come to the surface now George is back under her roof.

Charles needs a surveyor to discover the most affordable location to quarry stone for the viaduct. Annie and Johnny learn that the quarry site is where the bodies of Happy Jack and Skinny are buried and they become worried. Everything they thought was dead and buried could now destroy everything that they have fought for.

Johnny is the number one suspect following the cuddle of Redhugeen. Charles has washed his hands with his brother and Coates takes it upon himself to lock Johnny up pending the judgement of the law. Annie makes a desperate plea with Charles to have him released but he is still furious about having found out that Johnny and Isabella slept together.

Following aftermath of the trial, Anne and Johnny's relationship is now public knowledge and they're finally able to enjoy the intimacy of their union. With Cotes due to leave town he is determined that his time in Jericho is not yet finished.