In simplest terms, The Miracle Worker is the true story of how one person enters the lives of others and changes them forever. In 1887, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Annie Sullivan enters the Keller household to teach Helen, the Keller's deaf, mute, and blind daughter. Through her work, Annie ends up changing the family's and her perception of the world. By the end of the play the "miracle" that Annie works--teaching Helen language--has a direct effect on everyone's life, and on the way they live it.