When a poor cousin, Fannie Price, comes to live at the estate of the sophisticated Bertram family, she suffers from the condescension of her haughty relatives and from the hopeless love she bears for their youngest son. Life becomes even more complicated when she is forced into a rivalry with a charming and vivacious newcomer. Fannie will have to question her most cherished beliefs about herself and her world as she struggles to make a home for herself.