Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are four loving March sisters living with their mother in the USA during the Civil War. Their father is a military doctor fighting in the Union Army. After a terrible battle in a neighbour town, the Confederates pass through their town and burn it. Over the ruins of their house the March family also learn that the factory in which their father invested all his money has been burnt too. Homeless and pennyless, the family heads towards Newcord, where the father's aunt lives, hoping for the old lady to help them. The girls try to adjust to their new life, face many hardships, meet new friends and wish to the war to be over at last.
The March family, mother, and four daughters make the best of life as their father fights with the Union Army. After a year, the wounded father returns, and the family rejoices. But their family picnic takes an ominous turn when he sights enemy scouts.
As the Rebel army advances toward the March family's hometown, the father returns to the war. On the way home from church in a heavy rainstorm, Beth finds a stray kitten suffering from the weather and nurses it back to health.
Though Mr. Laurence seems a stern and frightening presence to timid Beth, he is touched and delighted by her music and kindness. In return, he gives her a wonderful gift, a piano that had once belonged to the daughter he had lost.
Meg's mother scolds Laurie for the hurt he caused forging a letter to Meg. To protect Meg's feelings, they agree not to tell anyone. Laurie's grandfather hears about the reprimand, and when Laurie refuses to tell him the details, Laurie is punished.
Though sweets are forbidden, Amy's school friends enjoy sneaking treats during recess. Amy brings candied limes for all her friends, except Jenny. Jenny reports to the teacher, who takes the limes and, to Amy's humiliation, punishes her with a cane.
Laurie invites Jo and Meg to the theater to see a play. Amy is hurt at being left out and decides to get even with Jo. In a fit of anger, she throws Jo's manuscript into the fire, destroying the novel that Jo has worked so long and so hard to write.
Amy and Jo have not spoken since Amy destroyed Jo's manuscript, and Amy is feeling remorseful. When Jo leaves to go ice-skating, Amy runs after her, planning to apologize. But before they work out their differences, Amy falls through the ice.
Jo and Laurie rescue Amy from the freezing river. Jo blames herself for the accident, since her disagreement with Amy kept her from warning her sister about the thin ice. Comforted by their mother, Jo and Amy apologize and reconcile with each other.
Meg spends a vacation with her fashionable friends Sally and Annie and enjoys the high life. When Annie's sister Bell attempts to perk up Meg's dowdy party dress and turn her into a real lady for an evening, everyone does not appreciate the results.
Jo works for her beloved but crotchety Aunt March. When her Aunt travels to a hot spring for her health, Jo gets a welcome vacation and begins to make plans.
Laurie invites the March sisters to a lakeside picnic. They have a wonderful time at the outing and begin some enduring new friendships.
Amy goes fishing with John's young brother Tom hoping for a dinner of trout. She has a happy time but becomes very tired and falls asleep. Jo startles her from a frightful dream.
Unable to sleep, Meg goes to Jo's room for a late night talk. Meg, Jo decides, has fallen in love with Laurie's tutor, Mr. Brooke.
Jo waits impatiently after delivering her novel to the newspaper office. Laurie takes her to the office to check things out, but they are unable to learn anything until ...
The March family receives news that Father is seriously ill. Mother immediately arranges to travel to Washington, where he is hospitalized. Desperate to raise money for Father's care, Jo sells her beautiful long hair.
The sisters know their Mother's absence is a test of their character and abilities, and they try hard to keep up their work and their spirits. But the more cheerful they try to be, the more gloomy they feel.
The sisters receive a letter from Mother assuring them that Father will recover, and they plan their letters to her, setting her mind at ease.
In her Mother's absence, Beth looks after the poor Hummel family. The baby is sick, and while Mrs. Hummel hurries for a doctor, the infant dies in Beth's arms. The baby died of scarlet fever, the doctor reports. And before long, Beth is sick too.
Beth has scarlet fever and her worried sisters struggle with the crisis. Meg and Jo, who have already had the disease, care for Beth, while Amy is sent to stay with Aunt March. When Beth takes a turn for the worse, her sisters send an urgent telegram.
Beth's condition continues to worsen, and the doctor warns, "If her fever doesn't break soon, she will die."
The family rejoices as Beth's health improves. One day Amy meets the newspaperman Anthony, and he sends a message to Jo, telling of an opportunity to pursue a writing career in New York.
With Beth's recovery, Amy returns home. The sisters are delighted to be back together, but Meg's happiness is clouded by a letter from Mr. Brooke.
Though Beth is feeling much better, she must remain indoors, and she longs to play in the snow. Jo and Laurie bring her presents and build a snowman for her. On Christmas Day, Father returns home accompanied by Mr. Brooke.
Father is home for the holiday but plans to return to the war as soon as he has fully recovered. The next day, Brooke proposed to Meg, and she joyfully accepts.
With the arrival of spring, the war ends and Father is home to stay. The March's have a party to celebrate Beth's recovery and Meg's engagement. Then Jo sets off for New York with high hopes for a career as a writer.
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