Change is in the air at the Abbey as an exciting opportunity for Alfred creates tension between Ivy and Daisy. Isobel appeals to Violet's sense of charity, but it doesn't come without a fight, while Branson considers a new future for himself and baby Sybbie.

Cora's playboy brother has got himself into a spot of bother and Robert has to make a trip to America to bail him out. Blake and Mary are forced to put aside their differences to deal with a new farming venture on the estate. When Violet is taken ill, help comes from an unlikely quarter. In spite of Mrs Hughes, Mrs Patmore and Carson's attempts to keep the peace, romantic tensions below stairs cause problems.