Lisa is hired as a new assistant at Goodes department store in Sydney during the 1959 Christmas season. She makes friends with Fay, who is initially wary of immigrants, Patty, who seeks more attention from her husband, and Magda, an immigrant from Slovenia who introduces her to her other European friends. Patty buys a pink nightdress to get her the attention from her husband she seeks, but he believes he has upset her with his attention and disappears for the season. Magda invites Lisa and Fay to a New Years Eve party at Magdas house and introduces Fay to Rudi, a Hungarian immigrant who is looking for a wife. Lisa is introduced to Michael, the son of Hungarian immigrants to Australia. A dress Lisa wants to buy is marked down from 150 guineas to 75 guineas during the next summer sale, then later to 50 guineas.

Pattys husband returns and they reconcile when she explains she wants his attention, and Patty soon becomes pregnant. Lisa gets honours on her school leaving exam and applies for a scholarship at Sydney University after getting the approval of her father. Rudi buys a new apartment and proposes to Fay in it. Lisa is upset the dress she likes is no longer on display, but Magda has only hidden it away now so it has been reduced to 35 guineas, which Lisa can now afford. She buys the dress and wears it to a party celebrating her test scores. Magda says she has picked out a location for a store where she will sell high-end fashion. Magda asks Lisa what she will do after finishing her studies at Sydney University and Lisa says she wants to be an actress, or a poet, or a novelist, or maybe all three.