The movie focuses on an old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home. The story he reads follows two young lovers named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet one evening at a carnival. But they are separated by Allie's parents who dissaprove of Noah's unwealthy family, and move Allie away. After waiting for Noah to write her for several years, Allie meets and gets engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon.
Allie, then, with her love for Noah still alive, stops by Noah's 200-year-old home that he built for her, "to see if he's okay". It is evident that they still have feelings for each other, and Allie has to choose between her first love
and the man her parents approve of.