Set in the small Nova Scotia mining town of Glace Bay in the early 1900s, the series revolves around the lives and work of the town's male population, virtually all of whom were employed by the local coal mine, and the trials and tribulations of the women
Nellie wrestles with a tough decision after Ned lands a position on the mine face with higher pay and risk. Mrs. MacTavish tells Nellie a cautionary tale about Flora MacClure, a woman whose husband was killed in a mining accident.
When wealthy Aunt Rose visits the MacLean family to attend Nellie's wedding, she makes no secret about her distaste for minors and her low expectation for Nellie's future happiness. Meanwhile, Ned's work affects the wedding plans.
Ned tries to rally the other workers in the mine to confront their bosses about the poor safety conditions. In the meantime, Spider dares Willie, Mollie and Angus to spend the night inside a haunted house. Meanwhile, Ned's work affects the wedding plans.
After tensions come to a head between Ned and Mr. Frawley, Ned is fired and Aunt Rose offers to take the children back to Halifax. However Nellie and Willie refuse to leave town, and Willie tries to get Ned rehired.
Aunt Rose grabs the attentions of a suitor by the name of John Scottie MacNeil, who happens to be a famous traveling violinist. When the townspeople learn, the MacLean family gets the cold shoulder.
When Willie spots what he believes to be a ghost pirate ship, he enlists Mollie and Angus to help him hunt for buried treasure. However, Spider stumbles upon the cursed cache first. Elsewhere, Ned works with a greenhorn.
When his horse, Sable, disappears, Willie is convinced someone stole him. Disguising himself as a pit boy minor, Willie infiltrates the mine, and Ned helps him search. Meanwhile, Ben Fawley tries to adapt to life in the pit.
Ben backs up Ned's claim that sable belongs to Willie when the horse is found working as pit pony. Meanwhile, Willie suspects a connection between some stolen explosives and the pirate treasure.
Glace Bay enters a new age when a public telephone is installed in the train station. Willie writes a letter to Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor invites Willie and his teacher, Anne Harper, to visit him and discuss new ideas.
