Episode 1

1855. Doctor Thorne's penniless niece, Mary, is devastated to learn that she is the illegitimate child of his late brother. Mary falls in love with the heir to the Greshamsbury Estate, Frank. Frank is under instructions to save his family from financial ruin by marrying money. Doctor Thorne acts as both physician and business advisor to a railway millionaire, who holds the fate of Greshamsbury.