Philip Dudley

Demelza does everything in her power to stop Ross from being unjustly convicted, but the odds are stacked against him. The key to the trial lies in the hands of former servant Jud Paynter--a tipsy layabout easily swayed by drink and coin.

George sets out to find the truth about his son. Dwight marries his sweetheart, Caroline. And Morwenna's recently arrived younger sister, Rowella, attracts the attentions of Morwenna's husband, Ossie.

Arrested for his role in the shipwreck riot, Ross seems doomed to an unfair trial. Francis seeks to make amends with Demelza, but his guilt over his part in her husband's fall from grace threatens to push him over the edge.

Ross accepts a duel, risking a conviction for murder. Newly pregnant Elizabeth considers extreme measures to safeguard her marriage and family. And Drake makes one last play for a life of happiness with Morwenna.

While Demelza remains in misery at her father's home, the Poldark family is struck by bad fortune and a series of tragedies. Elizabeth flees her unhappy marriage and runs to Ross to rekindle their romance, but Demelza's secret threatens to come between them.

Ross tries to drink away thoughts of Elizabeth but eventually returns to work restoring his estate. A chance meeting at the market brings Demelza Carne, an ill-bred urchin girl, into his household. Meanwhile, his cousin Verity comes to him for help after falling for a man with a dark past.

After her husband's deception, Demelza looks for revenge from some unlikely sources. Tensions run high at home and abroad: the villagers are in open rebellion and war with France lies on the horizon. The discovery of tin at the family mine gives the Poldarks financial stability, but their marriage threatens to collapse.

The whole family feels the repercussions of Francis's betrayal, although Ross is distracted by a murder that casts suspicion on one of his employees. The crime sends the usually honorable Dr. Dwight Enys into a tailspin of doubt and self-loathing and sets Ross on a course that may ruin the Poldarks.

Corn prices are rising, miners are rioting, and Ross is divided between his loyalties to the Crown and sympathies for the poor. When a new election is called, he decides to run for Parliament against George, who risks not only losing his seat, but also his wife.

George Warleggan makes his own plans for Morwenna's future--and plans of a distinctly different sort for Drake. Only Ross's intervention saves his young brother-in-law's neck, an act of generosity that Drake is determined to repay.