Anne leaves Green Gables and Gilbert Blyth's proposal of marriage for a teaching position. When she returns, she finds Gilbert ill with scarlet fever and is forced to re-evaluate her true feelings for him.

A new adaptation of the classic series, the film is set in 1907 on beautiful Prince Edward Island. Anne Shirley is sent there to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who wanted to adopt a boy. Anne must make her way with the Cuthberts, in school, and in Avonlea to ensure she is never sent back to the orphanage again.

Anne Shirley is thirteen years old and finds that life in Avonlea is never simple. Torn between her free-spirited nature and her own perceived need to become sensible, Anne finds that the journey toward her goal is fraught with confusion and more than a few unfortunate yet amusing mishaps.