In season one, talk of a new railway being built brings fears of the breakdown of law and order; and the arrival of a handsome new doctor from London causes a stir among the ladies' in the town.

Cranford, where everything changes and all remains the same, and Miss Matty's house is full of bustle when her maid Martha gives birth to a daughter. Elsewhere the shadow of the new railway still looms. Miss Matty is concerned about a young girl who lives in an isolated cottage with her mother and domineering brother. Her worries open a Pandora's box and fears that Cranford will never recover.