The author's family lived in various Victorian towns and from the age of 13 to 17 Richardson attended boarding school at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne, Victoria.

Set in 1890s Melbourne, Australia, the novel revolves around 12 year old Laura Tweedle Rambotham, the eldest child of four children of a country family.

She is a clever and highly imaginative child, given to inventing romantic stories for the entertainment of her younger siblings, and an avid reader.

The girls at the school are generally from rather wealthy families and those, like Laura, who come from less fortunate backgrounds learn very early not to divulge their circumstances for fear of ridicule.

At the end, when Laura is walking away from the school for the last time, she is overcome with a desire to run, and the last we see of her is a rapidly diminishing form disappearing through a park.