The narrative follows Becky Sleeper, a spirited sixteen-year-old tomboy in a small coastal Maine township, whose mischievous adventures—apple raids, tree climbing, and rough-and-tumble games—entangle her with her younger brother Teddy, neighbors, and local families. When family fortunes and community relations shift, episodes at school, acts of charity, and complicated household relationships test loyalties and prompt personal change. Interwoven domestic incidents, a developing romance involving an older spinster, and a dramatic crisis lead to Becky’s moral and social maturation, with events and consequences revisited in a concluding two-years-after retrospect.