Alexia was brought up in the village. Though she has a cottage and workshop in Main Road she's bursting to move on to bigger things. Ben's left a mess behind in Berkshire and is living in the Woodward Cottage on the Carlysle estate. Gabe invests heavily in converting an old pub into a café but someone runs away with the money. Ben, Alexia, Gabe and Carola get involved in trying to salvage the project of bringing the Angel Community Café into being. Gwen has left the village shop at The Cross and her niece Melanie taken over. Carola's marriage ends. The village hall is temporarily closed.