As Elizabeth nervously faces her first day of teaching, Jack must figure out which doomed miner wrote a personal message on a plank found in the mine.
When the coal company orders the town's widows to move and make way for new miners, Abigail devises a plan to keep the women in their homes.
While Jack investigates the suspicious church fire, Elizabeth tries to figure out why little Rosaleen can't speak and is terrified of miner Wendell.
Jack questions Cat about the fire after finding whale oil cans in her shed, while Elizabeth is baffled when a poor student gives her a costly gift.
The arrival of new miners in Coal Valley creates excitement among the townswomen, but Jack regards Billy, Elizabeth's earnest suitor, with suspicion.
As the town readies for the Miners' Games, Elizabeth and Billy's courtship heats up, and Jack investigates some thefts he suspects Billy is behind.
Eager to start her life anew, Abigail concocts a bold but costly business proposition, while Elizabeth and Jack go to bat for a struggling student.
Adam, the mine disaster's sole survivor, finally returns home but struggles to readjust. On short notice, Elizabeth puts on the Founders' Day play.
Elizabeth's visiting sister causes a stir when she brings a wounded man to town, while Jack invites Elizabeth to a romantic dinner at Abigail's café.
As Elizabeth yearns for the absent Jack, Abigail pumps Gowen for details about the mine disaster, and Julie grows close to fugitive outlaw Nathaniel.
Jack and Elizabeth's reunion is threatened by the appearance of a woman from Jack's past. Abigail welcomes forensics investigator Bill Avery to town.
Helped by Jack, Bill investigates the mine explosion, while Elizabeth must decide whether to accept a job offer back East or remain in Coal Valley.
Elizabeth Thatcher, a young school teacher from a wealthy Eastern family, migrates from the big city to teach school in a small coal mining town in the west.