When Miss Read receives a magnificent diary for Christmas instead of the more customary bath salts, she decides she must make good use of it. In each chapter of her diary, Miss Read recounts a month in her life as headmistress of Fairacre School. With kindly humor, she relates all the difficulties and all the enjoyment of living in a small country community. Her jollity lasts even through staff problems, a village decision to marry her off, and a nagging cleaning lady. But when she writes about her younger pupils, that amusement breaks into laughter.