Miss Ellis, a social worker, takes Gilly Hopkins to her new home with Maime Trotter in Thompson Park, Maryland. This is Gilly’s third home in three years. Miss Ellis blames herself for placing Gilly with families that weren’t prepared for her, such as Mrs. Richmond who ended up in the hospital for “nerves” (2). Miss Ellis tells Gilly to give Maime Trotter a chance. She urges Gilly to comb her hair before meeting her new family, but Gilly refuses.

Gilly is irritated when they arrive at a dusty, cramped house. Maime Trotter and her foster son William Ernest Teague do not appear like the family Gilly hoped for. Maime Trotter seems odd, and William Ernest Teague is a small, timid boy who hides behind her. Miss Ellis is annoyed by Gilly’s rude behavior, but Maime Trotter takes it lightly. She says optimistically that she has “never met a kind [she] couldn’t make friends with” (6).

Gilly begins scheming about how to control her new family.

Maime Trotter shows Gilly her new bedroom, which disappoints Gilly because it is small. Gilly believes unpacking is a “waste of time” (9) because she never knows how long she’ll stay in one place.