Maddy's first change is coming up fast, as are her exams. Keeping her secret is becoming harder, especially after it causes her to break promises and lose her temper with her friends.
Now in her twenties, Anne returns to Avonlea for the first time since Marilla Cuthbert's death. Gilbert has been offered a position in a hospital in New York, and he persuades Anne to come with him. He arranges a position for her at a large publishing house. Big city life isn't what they expected. Anne's manuscript is stolen by a dashing American writer, Jack Garrison. Thus the stage is set for a final three hour installment in the "Anne of Green Gables" story which follows the characters from New York, the war effort in Europe and eventually returns them to the red earth of Prince Edward Island.
Three people experience tragedies they feel they will never overcome. They attempt to find hope and love again in the future, but worry that the past always hold them back.