Emily is raised by her father who encourages her to always follow her heart and dreams. But when her father dies leaving Emily all alone she has to be raised by one of her relatives, none of which want her. She hides under the table as they draw lots to see who will have to raise her. Aunt Elizabeth is drawn and Emily is sent to live with her, Aunt Laura and Cousin Jimmy at New Moon.

Emily moves to New Moon and Aunt Elizabeth forbids her to read or write fiction. Pandora, Emily's cat, is left on the side of the road by Aunt Elizabeth. After finding some old 'Letter Bills' in the attic, Emily uses the back of them to write letters to her father.

Emily is horrified when Aunt Elizabeth informs her that she must attend school. After a dreadful first day of being teased by the other students and meeting the mean teacher Miss Brownell, she meets Ilse Burnley and they become friends.

Emily discovers the ""Disappointed House"" which looks out over the seashore. She also gets a surprise when Teddy kisses her. A carpenter was building it for his wife-to-be when she called off the wedding days before it was set to take place. Both now dead, Emily must help the ghosts to see the truth so that they can finally be together. In the process revealing one of Aunt Laura's secrets. Emily also meets Perry Miller, who becomes the new New Moon chore boy.

Emily and Ilse are curous about who Lofty John exactly is and go searching on his property to find out more. After catching Emily he forces her to eat a 'poison' apple and sends her home. Despite trying her best to be brave she prays to her father who is on the road to heaven.

While searching through the attic Emily comes across her mother's, Juliet, doll. Aunt Laura restores it for Emily. Then Aunt Laura meets Ian Bowles and falls in love with him...until she finds out the truth about him which sends her back home in tears.

Oliver, Emily's cousin, announces that New Moon actually belongs to his father. His girlfriend Maida is pregnant and loses her job and is left penniless. Emily, Ilse, Perry and Teddy, get her settled in the Disappointed House and end up helping to deliver her baby. Maida leaves town, and Oliver takes responsibility for his child.

Young Duncan McHugh blames himself for his mother's poverty and depression. After an embarrassing incident at school, Emily befriends Duncan and brings him to New Moon. But when Aunt Elizabeth finds out who he is she sends him packing. His mother Alma and Aunt Elizabeth had both been in love with the same man, but he married Alma. Emily, Ilse, Perry and Teddy also defy an order not to go into town to watch the hanging of a murderer.

Miss Brownell leaves her post as teacher and marries the school inspector. Her replacement is Mr Carpenter, a once university professor. He encourages the children to find their own talents, the only problem is that he drinks. Emily, Perry, Cousin Jimmy and Aunt Laura have to get Mr Carpenter cleaned up for his final evaluation after he staggers to New Moon drunk.

Ilse Burnley wants to learn about her dead mother because her father never talks about her. Emily, whose own father is dead, feels sympathy for her and wants to help find some information. While visiting her Great Aunts they tell her the tales about what has happened to Ilse's mother. After running away Emily snares her foot in a rabbit snare and is rescued by her Cousin Dean Priest (2nd cousin, twice removed).

Emily decides to find out the truth about Ilse's mother. Cousin Jimmy and Perry, along with Ilse, break into a warehouse trying to find out if she sailed away or stayed in Blair Water. During a faver the truth is finally reveled.

When a racoon savages Emily's cat Pandora, Aunt Laura takes the cat to Dr Burnley where they share a bitter-sweet moment. When Ian Bowles asks Laura to marry him, she says yes, but not with her whole heart.

Aunt Elizabeth find Emily's treasured 'Letter Bills' hidden in the attic. Laura announces her engagement to the rest of New Moon.