In 2010, Mark Ashburn and his pregnant partner Nisha Parekh move into Marchlands and find a photo of a young girl, who the viewers now know to be Alice.

An elderly Ruth, who never came to terms with the death of her child and remains determined to find out what happened, returns to Marchlands when Mark employs her as a housekeeper and childminder after Nisha breaks her ankle when falling from a step-ladder.

In 1944, Eve (Dakota Blue Richards), an evacuee from London, arrives at Lightfields with her little sister Vivien (Leilah de Meza) and is sent to help out on the farm, owned by Albert (Sam Hazeldine) and Martha Felwood (Jill Halfpenny).

She befriends Albert and Martha's daughter, Lucy (Antonia Clarke), who is later tragically killed in a fire at the barn after locking horns with Eve over the heart of dashing American Dwight (Neil Jackson).

The rest of this time period shows Lucy's family grieving for their dead daughter and Eve's determination to find out what really happened to her.

[3] The cast for this series was announced to include Jill Halfpenny, Sam Hazeldine, Dakota Blue Richards, Lucy Cohu, Karla Crome, Danny Webb, Kris Marshall and Sophie Thompson.