Victoria and Albert are still at loggerheads after their return from Osborne. Victoria ignores a letter from Skerrett, who has left service. Albert intends to depart for Cambridge, having been invited to be Chancellor of the University. A reception for foreign diplomats is interrupted by the news of a cholera outbreak in Soho. The eccentric Dr. Snow visits the poor, determined to find the cause of the disease. Skerrett and Francatelli prepare to open their hotel.