LeLe Arnold, a high school student from Indiana, seizes the opportunity to spend her summer with her cousin, Baby Gwen, in Mississippi. Recently sidelined in a cheerleader election, she attributes her exclusion to her perceived weight. Mississippi represents a fresh start, a chance to reinvent herself into a more admired version. From the moment she arrives, LeLe embellishes her story, telling Gwen that she did make the cheerleading squad, and recounts a fictitious sendoff by the football team at the train station.

Exploring New Experiences

The two cousins, LeLe and Baby Gwen, indulge in a summer filled with sunbathing, playing bridge, and entertaining local boys. LeLe finds herself particularly drawn to Fielding Reid. As she starts to buy into her own fabrications of being extraordinary, Fielding finally asks her out on a date. Overwhelmed with anticipation, her excitement quickly deflates when he reveals his true motive: to discuss her weight, which he believes hampers her full potential for beauty. To protect her self-esteem, LeLe fabricates a story about having a thyroid condition.

A Bold Challenge

Fielding's announcement of his annual swim across the lake stirs something in LeLe. Despite Baby Gwen's objections that such a challenge is unfit for girls, LeLe volunteers to join him. In the water, she feels transformed—slim, attractive, and flawless. Completing the swim effortlessly, she earns a reputation as “the wildest girl in Mississippi.”

Returning Home

Upon returning with Baby Gwen, LeLe discovers her parents are coming to retrieve her. Back in Indiana, she resumes her penchant for storytelling. She narrates to a friend a fanciful tale of being nearly engaged to a wealthy plantation owner’s son while reminiscing about how the water turned into diamonds in her hands in Mississippi.