The series opens with Chitose Fujinomiya, a girl who has slipped from privilege to poverty and back, yet never loses her snobbish airs. After her affluent father dies, the remaining debts nearly bankrupt her, and she is expelled from the upscale Tokai no Gakuen (City Academy). All she keeps are her clothes and a pink goldfish named Gyopi‑chan, the sole remnant of her father’s memory. Lost and exhausted, Chitose collapses on the grounds of Inaka no Chugakko, a humble but cheerful country junior high, where students are rough but friendly and farm animals roam the campus, even attending classes. As she recovers, she joins the school but feels repelled by its impoverished atmosphere.