- Carol moves back to Gopher Prairie and gives birth to a baby girl. Immediately, Carol starts making plans for her daughter's life, assuming that the future will give young women many more options than it has given her.
- Carol gets back into the routines of Gopher Prairie, but she refuses to ever accept the town the way it is. She might not be able to change it, but she'll never give in to the popular opinion that the town is fine the way it is and that there's no need for improvement.
- Carol wants to help create a world that'll give more possibilities to her daughter, and she finds hope in thinking about the distant future.