Louisa Clark arrives in New York City to begin work as social secretary to the wealthy Gopnik family.

At a glamorous New York society ball, Louisa meets Josh, a young man who looks strikingly like Will.

Sam visits Louisa in New York but spends the entire weekend confined to the hotel room with food poisoning.

Agnes keeps Louisa late helping her dress for an event, leaving Louisa just enough time to say goodbye to Sam at the airport.

While Agnes is away in Poland, Louisa stumbles upon a vintage clothing store and feels reconnected with herself.

Sam arrives at the Lavery unannounced, surprising Louisa during her time off.

Sam discovers a used pregnancy test in Louisa's bathroom trash and accuses her of being unfaithful.

Agnes admits the pregnancy test is hers and asks Louisa to keep it secret from Mr. Gopnik.

Louisa arrives at Sam's home for Christmas and sees him sharing an intimate moment with Katie through the window.

Louisa breaks up with Sam on Christmas Day when he visits her at her parents' home.

Mr. Gopnik accuses Louisa of theft and fires her after discovering cash withdrawals; Agnes refuses to defend her.

Louisa finds Mrs. De Witt unconscious on the floor of her apartment and calls for emergency help.

Mr. Gopnik, having discovered Agnes's secret daughter, meets Louisa to apologize and asks what he can do to make amends.

Sam finally begins writing honest and frequent letters to Louisa, and the two grow closer than ever before.

Louisa races to the top of the Rockefeller Center observation deck and finds Sam waiting for her.

Louisa Clark arrives in New York to work as social secretary for the wealthy Gopnik family, navigating an extravagant but demanding new life. Her relationship with Sam is strained by distance and failed visits, ultimately ending in a Christmas Day breakup after she witnesses an intimate moment between Sam and his coworker Katie. Shortly after, Louisa is fired from her job when Agnes refuses to defend her against false theft accusations, leaving her jobless and homeless in a foreign city. She finds her footing by caring for her elderly neighbor Mrs. De Witt and working at a vintage clothing store she loves. Through an honest written correspondence, Louisa and Sam slowly rebuild their connection from across the ocean. The book closes with Louisa claiming her future in New York as Sam meets her at the top of the Rockefeller Center.

Louisa's journey from New York arrival to Rockefeller Center reunion.

Tabitha makes snide remarks about Agnes's immigrant background during the first dinner Louisa attends with the Gopniks.

Agnes strips out of her ballgown in the cloakroom to fix a stuck zipper and wins over the bathroom attendant.

Agnes takes Louisa to a noodle bar she used to frequent and confides about feeling like a misfit in her new life.

Sam tells Louisa he has a new female work partner named Katie after his previous trusted partner leaves.

Agnes begins secretly visiting artist Steven Lipkott for private sessions and instructs Louisa to wait in the car outside.

Ilaria walks in on Louisa watching Ashok's children in her quarters and unexpectedly helps care for them.

Louisa joins Meena at the Washington Heights library march and encounters a warmer, more diverse side of New York.

The Gopniks' Thanksgiving dinner turns hostile, ending when Mr. Gopnik reveals he had a vasectomy with Agnes's prior knowledge.

Louisa rushes into Lipkott's studio to retrieve Agnes and discovers paintings of Agnes's secret child on the walls.

Louisa moves into Mrs. De Witt's apartment and discovers it is filled with racks of valuable vintage fashion.

Louisa finds minimum-wage work at the vintage clothing store, repairing and cleaning new clothing shipments.

While dropping Mrs. De Witt at what seems a routine appointment, Louisa discovers the visit is to the oncology department.

Josh asks Louisa to change out of her favorite tights before his boss's dinner, and Louisa breaks up with him.

Mrs. De Witt moves to live with her son Frank and bequeaths her entire wardrobe to Louisa.

Mr. Gopnik agrees to fund the Washington Heights library, which is renamed the William Traynor Memorial Library.

This pool follows the significant but secondary events that shaped Louisa's experience in New York, from Agnes's social struggles to the secrets she kept. Agnes's difficult position in high society is illustrated through snubs at the Yellow Ball and a hostile Thanksgiving dinner, while her affair with Lipkott and her hidden child are slowly uncovered. Louisa finds unlikely community at the Washington Heights library march and genuine friendship with her irascible neighbor Mrs. De Witt, whose illness and vast fashion wardrobe will change the course of Louisa's life. A job at the vintage clothing store gives Louisa both income and purpose after she is cast out by the Gopniks. The pool ends with Louisa's selfless act of asking Mr. Gopnik to fund the library and dedicate it to Will's memory.

The social world, secrets, and side stories that shaped Louisa's year.

Louisa asks Sam to write letters to her while she is abroad; Sam declines and promises only to call.

Camilla Traynor sends Louisa letters Will wrote during his own time in New York, giving Louisa an unexpected sense of kinship.

Louisa finds social media photos of Sam's new partner Katie pressed against him at a paramedics' work night out.

Kathryn delivers a spontaneous speech full of warm personal anecdotes at a country club retirement party, receiving a standing ovation that overshadows Agnes.

Sam surprises Louisa with a second visit to New York and tells her she seems to have grown into someone different.

Louisa and Sam run into Josh at a bar, and Sam becomes visibly upset by how much Josh resembles Will.

Agnes instructs Louisa to make daily cash withdrawals from Mr. Gopnik's account to secretly fund a piano shipped to Poland.

Agnes spots Louisa heading to Thanksgiving at Ashok and Meena's and insists she stay for the Gopniks' dinner instead.

Treena's partner Eddie arrives at the family Christmas gathering, revealing to everyone that Treena is a lesbian.

Agnes takes Louisa to a bar and confesses that the child she visits in Poland is her secret daughter Zofia.

Josh tells his boss's colleagues that Louisa is about to join a major fashion magazine, lying about her actual work.

Louisa secretly messages Mrs. De Witt's grandson Vincent, asking him to visit the grandmother he has never met.

After the granddad's funeral, Louisa's mother hands her Sam's unopened Christmas gift: an ambulance-shaped pin with a loving note.

Sam writes to Louisa admitting he deeply regrets losing her after mistakenly believing Josh has proposed to her.

Louisa decides to stay in New York and launches Bee's Knees, a vintage clothing rental agency built from Mrs. De Witt's wardrobe.

This pool traces the pivotal moments of realization and decision that drove Louisa's arc in New York. From Sam's reluctance to write letters at the very beginning to the honest correspondence that eventually saves their relationship, the cost of poor communication runs through every event. Key revelations—about Agnes's secret family, about Josh's true character, and about Louisa's own identity—force Louisa to examine who she really is and what she actually wants. Her grandfather's death brings her home and reminds her of what she values, while Mrs. De Witt's influence and sharp advice push her to stop reshaping herself for others. By the final event, Louisa has claimed her authentic self and boldly invites Sam to share her new life in New York on her own terms.