Anne teaches in her Canadian village of Avonlea, helps create a village improvement society, gets involved in neighbors' problems and assists Marilla (her adoptive mom) in raising young orphan twins - Dora and Davy. Anne struggles against the philosophy of corporal punishment in the classroom, and there are a few romantic subplots. One involves an American student, Paul, whose mother is deceased and father has sent him to live with his grandmother. Anne happens upon Miss Lavendar, the woman originally engaged to Paul's father, and happily sees the couple reunited.