Mr. Tulliver decides to send his son Tom to a better school, hoping Tom will find a career beyond running the mill.

Philip Wakem, the lawyer's son, joins Tom at Stelling's school as a lawsuit begins between their two fathers.

Maggie visits Tom at school and befriends Philip Wakem while Tom recovers from an injury.

Maggie arrives unexpectedly at school to tell Tom their father lost his lawsuit and fell badly from his horse.

Tom and Maggie return home to find law enforcement officers already inside the Tulliver house.

Mr. Tulliver agrees to work as mill manager under Mr. Wakem's ownership to keep his family housed.

Tom discovers Maggie has been secretly meeting Philip Wakem in the Red Deeps and confronts her about it.

Tom forces a meeting with Philip to insult his deformity and forbid him from ever seeing Maggie again.

Tom announces that his investment with Bob has succeeded and the last of Mr. Tulliver's debts are paid.

After a celebration dinner, Mr. Tulliver runs into Mr. Wakem and attacks him with a riding whip.

Maggie intervenes to pull her father off Mr. Wakem, but Mr. Tulliver is weakened and dies the next day.

Maggie's cousin Lucy invites her to stay in St. Ogg's, where she meets the charming Stephen Guest.

Stephen rows Maggie far from town during a boat outing and proposes that they elope together.

Tom refuses to let Maggie into his house after hearing about the scandalous overnight boat trip with Stephen.

Maggie rows to Dorlcote Mill in the flood to rescue Tom, and they drown together when debris strikes their boat.

The story begins with Mr. Tulliver's ambitious decision to give his son Tom a formal education, setting a chain of events in motion that will transform the family's fortunes. Tom's schooling introduces him to Philip Wakem just as a lawsuit between their fathers escalates, and Maggie's visit to the school marks the beginning of a friendship with Philip that will haunt her for years. The family's prosperity collapses when Tulliver loses his lawsuit, forcing him to work under his enemy Wakem and driving Tom to take on the burden of restoring the family's honor. Tom's eventual success in paying off the debts triggers a fatal confrontation when Mr. Tulliver attacks Wakem in a moment of vengeful triumph, dying the following day. Years later, Maggie's entanglement with her cousin Lucy's suitor Stephen Guest destroys her reputation and causes her own brother to disown her. The novel ends in a catastrophic flood that reunites the estranged siblings in death, their boat overwhelmed as they try to save those they love.

The headline events that shape the Tulliver family's rise and fall.

Mr. Riley recommends Reverend Stelling as Tom's tutor, motivated more by personal alliance than genuine knowledge of Stelling's teaching.

Maggie admits to Tom that she let his pet rabbits die; Tom angrily declares he no longer loves her.

Maggie convinces Tom to cut her hair in uneven clumps, hoping to end criticism about it, but her family is horrified.

Maggie runs away from home and seeks out a Romani encampment, telling them she wants to live with them permanently.

Tom invites Philip to join a sword-fighting lesson with Mr. Poulter, knowing full well Philip cannot participate in physical sport.

Tom secretly shows Maggie the sword he borrowed from Mr. Poulter and drops it on his foot, injuring himself badly.

Bob, an old childhood friend with little to spare, visits the impoverished Tulliver home and offers Tom money and Maggie books.

The Tulliver aunts and uncles gather for a family council to decide how to manage the financial ruin.

Mrs. Tulliver secretly visits Mr. Wakem to beg him not to purchase Dorlcote Mill from their creditors.

Tom earns a promotion within his first year at the warehouse and contributes every penny of his earnings to the family.

Stephen impulsively kisses Maggie's arms while alone with her at a ball, offending and deeply upsetting her.

Stephen pays Maggie an unexpected visit at Aunt Moss's house to tell her he is in love with her.

Stephen writes his father a letter confessing that the entire boating scandal was his fault alone.

Mrs. Glegg, despite years of criticizing Maggie, becomes her most outspoken public defender throughout the scandal.

Tom and Maggie are buried together at Dorlcote Mill; Philip visits their grave and never marries.

Beneath the main plot, a series of smaller but telling events trace the emotional textures of Maggie's life and the relationships that define her. Her wild childhood — marked by the death of Tom's rabbits, her self-inflicted haircut, and her flight to a Romani encampment — establishes her as someone who feels the world too intensely and too honestly. At school, Tom's cruelty toward Philip and his near-disastrous encounter with a borrowed sword reveal his impulsiveness, while the arrival of the loyal Bob during the family's poverty shows what genuine generosity looks like. As Maggie enters society years later, Stephen's unwanted kiss at a ball and his pursuit of her at Aunt Moss's home expose how little men in her world respect her stated wishes. The town's gossip following the boat scandal is both merciless and unjust, but Mrs. Glegg's unexpected defense and Stephen's written confession provide small counterweights to the cruelty Maggie endures. The pool closes with the burial of Tom and Maggie at Dorlcote Mill and Philip's lifelong vigil at their grave, underscoring the permanent human cost of the novel's conflicts.

The secondary moments that reveal character and deepen the tragedy.

Mr. Tulliver and Mrs. Glegg have a heated argument over her five-hundred-pound loan, leaving their feud entirely unresolved.

Tom departs for Reverend Stelling's school, beginning an education that proves a deeply poor fit for his practical mind.

Mr. Stelling repeatedly humiliates Tom for his inability to grasp Latin and geometry, treating his failures as willful obstinacy.

Philip tells Maggie he will never forget her dark, unusual eyes, and she gives him a warm parting kiss.

Mr. Tulliver makes his family swear never to forgive the Wakems and has Tom record the oath in the family Bible.

Maggie walks alone near the mill and unexpectedly encounters Philip Wakem, reigniting their long-dormant friendship in secret.

Philip confesses he is in love with Maggie; she admits she loves him too but refuses to betray her father.

Mr. Wakem discovers two portraits of Maggie among Philip's artwork and, after a furious argument, grants his blessing for a courtship.

Philip notices Stephen's intense and barely concealed attraction to Maggie during a musical gathering and begins to fear losing her.

Lucy quietly reveals a plan to persuade Philip to help transfer ownership of Dorlcote Mill back to the Tulliver family.

Maggie wakes on the barge and tells Stephen she has made a terrible mistake, firmly rejecting his elopement proposal.

Maggie visits Dr. Kenn, who believes her account of events and promises to defend her publicly and find her a way forward.

Philip sends Maggie a letter from abroad assuring her he does not doubt her honor and still loves her.

Lucy secretly visits Maggie to embrace her and express mutual regret over what has happened between them.

Maggie agonizes over Stephen's letter declaring his renewed love as the river Floss floods and water surges into the house.

This pool traces the hidden turning points — the moments of choice, confession, and discovery — that quietly redirect the story's course. From the Glegg loan dispute that poisons the extended family to Tom's humiliating experience under Mr. Stelling, the early events establish a world where pride and stubbornness carry enormous consequences. Philip's tender farewell to Maggie at school, and her parting kiss, plants a seed of feeling that endures for years until they secretly reconnect in the Red Deeps and Philip finally confesses his love. Mr. Wakem's discovery of Philip's portraits forces a pivotal reckoning between father and son, while Philip's growing suspicion of Stephen's attraction to Maggie signals the approaching crisis that will shatter every carefully maintained arrangement. After the boat scandal, Maggie's visit to Dr. Kenn and Philip's loyal letter from abroad represent the few genuine acts of faith offered to her. The pool ends with Maggie reading Stephen's letter of renewed devotion as the floodwaters rise around her, collapsing the distance between personal catastrophe and natural disaster.