Mr. Morgan, the town druggist, acts the the Everyman to tell the story of his town, Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, which in turn acts as the Anyplace. The story he tells is one of life, love and death, universal to anywhere in the world. He starts the story in 1901 solely to set the stage. Dr. Frank and Julia Gibbs and Charles and Myrtle Webb have been long time friends and next door neighbors. The Webb's oldest offspring, Emily Webb, in her mid to late teens, is an academically bright girl. The Gibbs' oldest offspring, George Gibbs, also in his mid to late teens, has focused his energies in life thus far on baseball. But he begins to think about his future, wanting to be a farmer, he being told that he can work for his Uncle Luke and eventually inherit the farm if he's any good at it. While Emily has always been secretly in love with George, George begins to notice Emily romantically for the first time, although he in turn doesn't tell her of his feelings for her. Mr. Morgan then moves the story to 1904, just before George and Emily are about to get married, he providing some background as to the less than smooth road to them being a couple, and their current doubts about what being married and being a grown-up mean. The last phase of the story takes place in 1913, when Emily is about to give birth to her and George's second child. In the process, Emily reflects on her life and thinks about loved ones that are no longer in the world, making her wish she had seized the happy moments in life when they happened.