In which we accompany the distressed Gradgrind family as they grapple with a grievous breach of trust and set forth on a secretive journey to aid a fugitive, encountering an old circus troupe that provides both refuge and melancholy reflections on loyalty and human folly. We witness the stark clash between rigid reason and compassionate humanity, embodied in the cold logic of Bitzer and the tender, if vexed, sympathies of Sissy and Sleary, as the heavy hand of consequence descends upon a once-respected household.