Sara Stanley is forced to move in with her deceased mother's relatives in the charming town of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island.

An elderly bachelor and his spinster sister adopt an orphan and are mistakenly sent a girl instead of a boy. The orphan, Anne, remains with the couple, moves from one mishap to another, succeeds academically, and finds love.

A young boy becomes an indentured servent in 19th century Prussia after his father is wrongly accused of theft and sent to prison.

While Olivia's simple wedding plans get wildly out of hand once Hetty takes over and alienates everyone in the family. Sara trades places with a street-smart waif that passes as her double. She lands in serious danger when she runs away from home with Gus Pike. It ends with the death of Marilla Cuthbert.

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her; Anne, now a young woman, has become a teacher and dreams of meeting her ideal man; After a series of disappointments, Anne and her husband Gilbert return to Avonlea in search of happiness, but soon face the challenges of war when newly enlisted...