Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain begins journaling in an old writing exercise book to practice her speed-writing techniques and get into a daily habit of writing, as she desires to be a novelist. She describes the events that happen to her family as they live in relative poverty in Godsend Castle in Sussex, England. Her father, James Mortmain, was once a celebrated novelist for his book Jacob Wrestling. Though he was influential in American literary circles, Mortmain was incarcerated for three months following a dispute with their former neighbors. After that, the family moved to Godsend Castle. Mortmain’s wife died eight years before the novel’s events, leaving him to care for their three children: Rose, Cassandra, and Thomas. Mortmain eventually marries a model named Topaz, who joins the family at the castle. Because Mortmain has been unable to write since his time in jail, the family lives in poverty.

Cassandra begins her journal by describing the night’s kitchen scene, where her sister Rose is ironing, and Topaz prepares a small meal for tea. Rose and Topaz discuss going to London to model to earn money for the family, and Rose bemoans her lack of social opportunities that would introduce her to a wealthy husband.