At the turn of the century on Prince Edward Island, Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla decide to take on an orphan boy as help for their farm. But they get an unexpected jolt when they're mistakenly sent a girl instead: Anne Shirley. Anne's a dreamer with an unusual point of view, far removed from Marilla's pragmatic ways, and it's only on trial that Marilla agrees to keep Anne...if Anne can keep out of trouble, only Anne has a positive genius for it. As Anne falls into a series of scrapes...

Anne Shirley, now a schoolteacher, has begun writing stories and collecting rejection slips. She makes the acquaintance of a handsome, rich, bachelor, (jumping to a wrong conclusion, she and Diana chased down Rachel Lynde's cow, thinking it was Dolly) & immediately sold it to John Blythe. [When she realizes her fault, Anne & Marilla do a special visit to Rachel Lynde & her longtime husband, Thomas. During this visit, Thomas Lynde dies & Rachel Lynde became a widow!] and wins (to her chagrin)...