Hetty, Felicity and a blind Gus return to Avonlea finding out about the Dale Cannery burning down, and a newborn in the Dale home. But Gus yet knows nothing about anyone named Stuart McRae, let alone that he is Felicity's fiancé. Conversely, no one in Avonlea has any idea that Gus is alive, albeit blind, before he arrives back in town. With the cannery, Olivia and Jasper's request for financing to rebuild has been turned down in light of the time to rebuild and the new modern cannery in Carmody always putting such a venture on uneconomical footing. Olivia and Jasper have to decide what to do, especially with all their old employees still waiting to start work. Hetty takes the news harder than anyone, she who sees the cannery as the lifeblood of the town, and without it the town's possible demise. With Felicity, Gus and Stuart, each also has some hard decisions to make. Stuart received Felicity's agreement to marry him in good faith and he still expects her to do so. Gus loves Felicity but knows that Stuart will be a better provider than he can be. He learns of a new but extremely dangerous surgical procedure that may restore his eyesight, with which he must think long and hard about proceeding. And Felicity knows that deep in her heart Gus is her one true love, but she did agree to marry Stuart and may not be able to hurt him especially in all that he sacrificed for her in her time of need.
—Huggo