Gentleman Jack

Yorkshire, 1834. A month on from their private marriage ceremony, Ann Walker remains in York under the care of her doctor while Anne Lister, with fresh financial confidence and entrepreneurial vigour, renovates Shibden Hall in preparation for her wife to move in.

Learning of their plan to cohabit, Ann's protective tribe of relations are increasingly suspicious of Anne's motives, but they can't find the right words to express their fears about the nature of her relationship. Meanwhile, as the couple prepare for a fabulous honeymoon abroad, devastated Mariana Lawton's jealousy signals more trouble ahead.

A former flame threatens to derail Anne Lister's idyllic honeymoon by revealing details of her complicated romantic past to Ann Walker. Questioned by Ann in the foothills of Mont Blanc, Anne reveals something of her relationship with Mariana Lawton, but keeps back crucial information. Back in Halifax, the couple's daring trip abroad has raised the alarm among Miss Walker's family, who hatch a plot to marry her off to a man.

Anne Lister and Ann Walker launch a charm offensive on Ann's relatives, determined to show them that Miss Walker is flourishing at Shibden Hall. Anne is fascinated by the arrival of a railway in Yorkshire and quizzes Halifax's men of industry on what this revolution could mean for the town. Though animated in public, privately Anne is unable to tear her thoughts from Mariana Lawton, who has confided that she is in the depths of despair. When Mariana appeals to Anne to visit her, Miss Walker has to make a difficult decision. Can she trust her wife to go?

Anne Lister is drawn back into her complicated past with Mariana during a trip to Lawton Hall. With Anne determined to draw a line under the tempestuous 20-year relationship that Mariana is so desperate to reignite, 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.

It's the election of January 1835, and revolution is in the air in Halifax. Returned to Shibden Hall and determined to move on from Mariana Lawton, Anne Lister throws herself into furthering the Tory cause.

With rumblings of discontent from Radicals looking to dismantle the traditional seats of power, it's clear this won't be an easy win for Anne's party, but the violence and lawlessness of how the election unfolds horrifies everyone.

Meanwhile, after a wall of silence from her sister, Ann Walker is stunned to learn that, at such a volatile time, the Sutherlands have ordered evictions on their shared property. With this, and Anne Lister's refusal to keep a low profile, the couple are drawing dangerous attention to themselves, and their relationship.

Anne Lister brushes the humiliating newspaper announcement aside, refusing to be intimidated by its public lampooning of her sexuality. Ann Walker is devastated to discover that her family have colluded with Captain Sutherland over the Walker estate, and suspects Parker of being in on it. And when a shocking letter intending to destroy Ann's trust in her wife arrives at Shibden Hall, the cracks already appearing within their marriage are forced open.

With the backing of an elite York lawyer, Anne and Ann press on with the proposal for a division of the Walker land, meeting Captain Sutherland's every obstruction head-on. But Ann's determination to secure her share of the family estate sends shockwaves through her family. Soon it isn't just the Priestleys who suspect Anne of being behind the proposal.

Anne Lister and Ann Walker's trip to London is blighted by tension. Anne refuses to introduce Ann to her society friends, and simmering resentments on both sides of the relationship boil over when Miss Walker takes Anne to task over her financial borrowing.

Back in Halifax, in the run-up to the Northgate ceremony, Anne is privately dismayed to realise she cannot count on the support of her family and receives terrible news about a friend. The ongoing mission to divide the Walker estate puts the couple under even more strain when Captain Sutherland arrives from Scotland determined to destroy Anne Lister's reputation. Is the marriage strong enough to survive constant attack?