Actually taking place in the middle of the original Thorn Birds miniseries, which chronicled the love affair of Meggie Cleary and Fr. Ralph de Bricassart from 1920 to 1962, this two-part miniseries begins in 1943. Father Ralph returns to Drogheda to evaluate its financial situation just as his one true love, Meggie, is embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband, Luke.