The Turnbulls' governess, Miss Higgins, has left to be married. Mrs. Turnbull hires a new one for her children, Ned and Miriam, because she is unable to connect with them herself - and they in turn cannot respect her because of it. The new governess, Miss Whitmore, is unlike any governess they've had before. Her appearance is peculiar, her voice unusually deep, and her curriculum is the opposite of everything that Ned and Miriam learned with their previous governesses. Miss Whitmore throws away their books and teaches them practical knowledge, condemning the idea of white superiority, picking apart the concept of an 'Englishman,' and ensuring that the children in her care are able to take care of themselves. She grants them a kind of independence that their previous governesses did not, and she manages to earn the loyalty and respect of the children. Her unorthodox methods earn Mrs. Turnbull's disapproval - she conveys her feelings to Mr. Turnbull, who decides that Miss Whitmore must be fired. Mrs. Turnbull, delighted, goes to her children to see what they think of this strange new governess, and their answers come off as unenthusiastic. By morning, Ned and Miriam come to the schoolroom, but Miss Whitmore is not there. After a few hours pass, they go up to her room to look for her, only to find that it is uninhabited. Miss Whitmore has been fired. The children run to the garden, scale a tree, and, unbeknownst to the other, they cry.