In 1914, young Sara lives in India with her widowed father Captain Richard Crewe, a wealthy British Army officer, sharing his love for stories of myths and magic. Called to serve in the Great War, Richard enrolls Sara at the all-girls' boarding school in New York City attended by her late mother, run by the haughty headmistress Miss Maria Minchin and her kindly sister Amelia. Instructing Miss Minchin to spare no expense for his daughter's comfort, Richard furnishes the school's largest suite and leaves Sara with her mother's locket and a doll he names Emily, which he tells her will keep them connected through magic.
