Emily is horrified when Aunt Elizabeth informs her that she must attend school. After a dreadful first day of being teased by the other students and meeting the mean teacher Miss Brownell, she meets Ilse Burnley and they become friends.

Overjoyed at finishing her first book she goes to see Teddy to see what he thinks of it. Only he breaks her heart when he is brutally honest about it bringing back memories of Dean Priest.

Emily then falls down the stairs and remembers back through a series of flashbacks the moments in her life that have shaped her future.