Molly is caught stealing Jane Eyre from the library and must complete community service hours or face juvenile detention.

Jack arranges for Molly to perform her community service hours by cleaning out Vivian Daly's attic.

Molly interviews with Vivian and is hired to organize the contents of her attic.

A fire kills Niamh's father and brothers; her mother loses her mind and is taken away, leaving Niamh completely alone.

Niamh and about twenty other children are placed on an orphan train heading west to find new families.

Niamh meets street-smart Dutchy on the train; they care for baby Carmine together and bond over their uncertain futures.

At the first Minnesota stop, Carmine is taken by a couple and Dutchy is chosen for farm labor, but Niamh is passed over.

A married couple named the Byrnes takes Niamh to their home sewing business in Albans and renames her Dorothy.

The stock market crash leaves the Byrnes unable to afford Dorothy, and she is sent to work for the Grote family.

Mr. Grote attempts to assault Dorothy in the night and Mrs. Grote throws Dorothy out of the house into the cold.

After being thrown out in the night, Dorothy walks four miles through the snow and collapses on the school porch until morning.

The Nielsen family in Hemingford agrees to take Dorothy in; she takes on the name of their deceased daughter, Vivian.

While on a trip to Minneapolis, Vivian unexpectedly encounters Dutchy in the lobby of a hotel.

Dutchy is killed in the war and an overwhelmed Vivian gives their newborn baby up for adoption.

An adoption registry locates Vivian's long-lost daughter Sarah Dunnell, and Sarah travels to Maine to meet Vivian.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer is caught stealing Jane Eyre from the library and must perform community service at the home of elderly Vivian Daly. As they work through Vivian's attic, Vivian's childhood is slowly revealed: orphaned after a New York apartment fire, she is placed on an orphan train heading west and endures a series of difficult households before finding stability with the Nielsen family. After decades apart, Vivian unexpectedly reunites with her childhood love Dutchy, but his death in World War II leaves her so grief-stricken that she gives their newborn baby up for adoption. In the present, Molly's growing friendship with Vivian helps both women confront their painful pasts and begin to heal. The novel closes with Vivian's long-lost daughter Sarah traveling to Maine for a long-overdue reunion.

The headline events of Vivian's past and Molly's present journey.

Molly begins her first work session in Vivian's attic; Vivian wants to recall each item rather than discard anything.

Vivian finds a worn copy of Anne of Green Gables in the attic and gives it to Molly as a gift.

The Byrnes make Dorothy work all day as a seamstress, sleep on the hallway floor on a pallet, and skip school.

Mrs. Byrne calls Dorothy insolent and threatens to send her back to the Children's Aid Society for asking to attend school.

Sewing worker Fanny secretly gives Dorothy an apple on her first day because the Byrnes have not fed her.

Mr. Sorenson places Dorothy with the Grote family and insists they agree to let her attend the local school.

Dorothy finds happiness at the rural school and teacher Miss Larsen gives her a copy of Anne of Green Gables.

The Grote children become infested with lice and Mr. Grote shaves Dorothy's head and treats it with lye.

Dorothy recovers from pneumonia in Mrs. Murphy's Irish boarding house, feeling safe for the first time in over a year.

Mrs. Murphy connects Dorothy with the Nielsen family and arranges a meeting; the Nielsens agree to take Dorothy in.

Vivian takes over the Nielsens' store as a teenager and convinces Mr. Nielsen to modernize it with fashionable goods.

Dutchy tells Vivian how his farming family beat him until a kind widower named Karl Maynard took him in.

Molly is assigned a school history project on portaging and chooses to interview Vivian about her many moves.

Dina throws Molly out of the foster home, accusing her of stealing the copy of Anne of Green Gables.

Vivian joins an online orphan train community and learns that baby Carmine was adopted and lived a long, happy life.

As Molly begins sorting Vivian's attic, she discovers how rich and painful her employer's hidden history truly is. In Minnesota, young Niamh endures a series of difficult placements—overworked by the Byrnes and neglected by the Grotes—before finding safety through small acts of kindness from women like Fanny, Miss Larsen, and Mrs. Murphy. Molly is drawn deeper into Vivian's story through a school history project on portaging, gradually seeing the parallels between Vivian's past and her own life as a foster child. When Molly's foster mother Dina throws her out of the house, it accelerates the bond between the two women. Vivian's discovery of Carmine's story online becomes the moment she finally begins to open herself to reconnecting with her forgotten past.

Significant moments shaping Vivian's hardships and Molly's growing connection to her.

Molly tells Vivian she is Penobscot Indian and that her father died in a drunk-driving accident when she was eight.

Vivian reveals to Molly that she also became an orphan at age nine, surprising both women with their shared experience.

Neighbor Mr. Schatzman tells Niamh that baby Maisie has died too, leaving Niamh with no surviving family member.

Dutchy urges Niamh to promise they will find each other again before they are separated at the Minnesota stop.

Mrs. Byrne threatens to take Dorothy's Claddagh cross necklace; Dorothy explains its symbols mean friendship, love, and loyalty.

Mr. Grote begins speaking to Dorothy inappropriately about his marriage and suggests he should have married someone like her.

Dorothy tells Miss Larsen the full truth about Mr. Grote's assault; Miss Larsen promises to find Dorothy a safe home.

The Nielsens legally adopt Dorothy after she has lived with them for several years and proven herself indispensable.

Vivian and Dutchy spend the night together at the Grand Hotel, talking until dawn and discovering they are in love.

Vivian and Dutchy marry and build a life together in Hemingford, with Dutchy teaching music at the local high school.

Vivian discovers she is pregnant just after Dutchy is drafted and shipped to the Pacific theater.

Vivian confesses to Molly that she kept Dutchy's death and their baby a secret from her second husband for decades.

Molly searches public records and discovers that Vivian's sister Maisie was adopted by the Schatzmans and died recently at age 83.

Molly tells Vivian she found Maisie but that Maisie has already died; she shows Vivian Maisie's obituary photo online.

Vivian changes her mind about finding her daughter and asks Molly to help her search when she is ready.

From their earliest conversations, Vivian and Molly share surprising revelations that bind them together—each became an orphan at nearly the same age. Niamh's journey west is defined by pivotal moments: a promise made to Dutchy on the train, a terrifying night at the Grotes' farm, and the courage to finally tell the truth to Miss Larsen. Dutchy and Vivian's reunion in Minneapolis sets off the most joyful and then most devastating chapter of Vivian's life, ending in tragedy and a secret she carries alone for nearly seventy years. In the present, Molly's research uncovers that Vivian's long-lost sister Maisie actually survived infancy but recently passed away—a painful discovery she must share with Vivian. Together, these turning points reveal how both women have been shaped by loss, and how facing the truth at last opens the door to healing.

Key decisions, discoveries, and emotional shifts that define both women's lives.