Eliza and her husband Jess are Quakers who live in the North during the Civil War. Eliza worries for her sons, a couple of whom had briefly joined the Northern war effort before coming home due to injury.

One night, Jess finds a very injured Southern boy by their springhouse, and brings him into their home so they can care for him. The next morning, Eliza is put off by Jess's cheery mood; he is delighted by the idea of the North and South uniting in his home. The Southern boy, Jimmy, joins the family for breakfast. He has a huge lump on his forehead and looks terrible. He tells the family that he is nineteen and has been with the Southern army for two years.

Two local men come to the house, and Eliza kicks them all out of her kitchen. Jess, Jess and Eliza's sons, and the two men settle in the side garden to chat. Jimmy sits at the kitchen table and talks with Eliza while she cooks. He is suspicious of the family's Quaker values, especially their belief in pacifism. When she finishes cooking, Eliza serves the group outside, and everyone enjoys the picnic.

When it comes time for supper, Eliza serves everyone indoors. Jimmy asks to be excused. After a while, Eliza sees Jimmy leave the house with his things. She runs after him and tells him to stay, but he keeps running until he trips and falls over. When Eliza finds him, she sees he has further damaged the lump on his head. She holds him in her arms until he dies, and thinks that maybe this boy's death will be a sign to her family not to rejoice so much during war-time.