Anne Shirley leaves Green Gables and her work as a teacher in Avonlea to pursue her original dream of taking further education at Redmond College in Nova Scotia. She is followed by some of her friends from Avonlea. During her first week of school, Anne befriends Philippa Gordon, a beautiful girl whose frivolous ways charm her. Philippa also happens to be from Anne's birthplace in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia. The girls set up house in a lovely cottage called Patty's Place, near campus, and start their college years at Redmond happily ensconced. While studying away from Prince Edward Island and in particular when visiting the place of her birth, Anne finds herself identifying the Island as her true home. Midway through her college, Gilbert Blythe, who has always loved Anne, shows up and proposes to her.