Now in Leeds, the pregnant Emma Harte learns that Blackie O'Neill has gone to Ireland to care for a sick friend. She finds a place to stay but has tried everywhere to get a job with no success. Her luck changes when she rescues a middle-aged man, Abraham Kallinski, be stoned by two boys.

As Emma Harte's empire grows, she arranges her assets in such a way as no one knows she is the buyer, noting that most men don't like dealing with a woman on business matters. The various layers of ownership come in quite handy as George Fairley drinks and gambles his family businesses away and she gets a opportunity to buy them cheap.