On Christmas Eve, around 1812, Pip, a seven years old, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard while visiting the graves of his mother, father, and siblings.

The convict scares him into stealing food and a file to grind away his shackles.

A wealthy spinster, Miss Havisham, asks Pip's uncle to find a boy to play with her adopted daughter Estella.

Pip begins to visit them, and falls in love with Estella.

A lawyer approaches Pip and tells him he is to receive a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor and must immediately leave for London.

Assuming that Miss Havisham is his benefactress, he visits her to say good-bye before he sets out for London.

The story takes many tumultuous twists and turns in the next few years in their lives.