The Bishop is coming to consecrate the church font and Thomas cannot contain his excitement. But when a Lark Rise tree starts to 'bleed', the hamlet becomes rife with talk of witchcraft. Thomas is horrified - this could ruin the Bishop's visit!

The 'witch tree' seems to cast a spell over the whole community - everyone is behaving strangely. Even Dorcas loses her composure and makes a blunder with terrible consequences for Pearl and Ruby. Laura, too, is thrown off balance when Daniel returns to try and win back her affections - but first he has to get around an angry Robert and Emma.

Thomas is determined to restore order. But how will he undo the tree's awful curse?

It's harvest time - the most important time of the year in Lark Rise, when everyone helps to bring in the wheat that will feed them through winter. So when an epidemic hits it couldn't come at a worse time - with so many sick, how will they gather the wheat and prevent a winter of starvation? Help comes from an unlikely source, but just when it looks as though their problems are solved, they discover the worst is yet to come.