The first chapters are nearly autobiographical. The central characters of the book are Tom and Maggie, children of a well-to-do miller, Mr. Tulliver. Maggie is a young girl who has noble aspirations contrasting her philistine surroundings, including her brother Tom. Tom drives Maggie out of the house based on two conflicts. One is Maggie’s secret love with their enemy’s son Philip Wakem. Another is their cousin’s suitor Stephen Guest’s courting her which she rejects. The reconciliation between brother and sister takes place during a great flood when Maggie, courageously starts a boat to save Tom. The boat is overturned and the reconciled brother and sister are drowned.