The story spans 1954 to 1966. During this time, Linda lives in a neighborhood of 100 houses in University City, known as the Gates of Opportunity. She knows the names of all the homeowners. Just about everyone is Jewish. It is easy to feel a connection to her neighbors. They share a common culture and history.

Notorious for being the first vegetarian in her neighborhood at age five, Linda becomes a known individualist, quirky. She turns ideas into reality. Her religion taught her to question everything. She admires Louisa May Alcott and plans to be a writer herself despite her mother's plans for her to be a secretary and marry a lawyer. Her home life is topsy-turvy at times and Linda goes exploring to get away.

She is intrigued by a century year old stone mansion she sees from her front lawn and ventures there to explore a different place and culture. With the help of a librarian, she discovers several cultures and prominent people lived in that mansion over the last 100 years. She wants to understand the history and what happens when a culture replaces another. Why do current residents move when a new culture starts to occupy the land?