When wealthy widower Captain Ralph Crewe first enrolls his little daughter Sara in Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies, she is set to become the school’s show pupil. But tragedy soon strikes: Captain Crewe passes away after losing his fortune, and young Sara is quickly forced into servitude by the cruel Miss Minchin.
To make it through her long days as a drudge, Sara imagines herself secretly a princess, and along the way learns to treasure true friends and the kindness of mysterious benefactors.
