- Carol walks to a friend's home for dinner. When she gets there, she meets a doctor in his mid-thirties named Will Kennicott. The host introduces Carol to Will, and they get to talking.
- Later that evening, Will and Carol talk on the sofa. Will asks Carol about her life and says he's not a fan of big cities like she is. He likes living in his small town of Gopher Prairie.
- Will talks about how Gopher Prairie is a growing town with a great future ahead of it. This gets Carol's attention, since it's her dream to help build a great American town.
- Will says that Gopher Prairie needs a woman like Carol in it to keep people on their toes and to make sure they don't settle for less than what's good.
- Before they part that evening, Will asks Carol if he can see her again next time he's in town. She tells him to ask the host of the party for her address, since she won't give it to him herself.
- Carol and Will start hanging out a lot and going for walks around St. Paul. Carol realizes quickly that they're fond of each other.
- One day, Will tells Carol he loves her. Then he says that she could fulfill all her dreams of improving an American town if she moved with him to Gopher Prairie. The chapter ends with Will hugging Carol close to him while she says, "Sweet, so sweet" (2.2.34).