A mother lives in Greece, mourning the death of one of her children, Dion. Her two other sons, Mahon and Yakos, are away and her daughter is in school. Mahon comes back to her, though Yakos doesn't show any sign of returning soon. The mother and Mahon have sex at night, and during the day, they farm and fix up their house. The mother visits the city council to request another child, because Mahon feels lonely and convinces her to. The council has three children in mind for her to take, despite her requesting only one, but they don't want to separate the siblings because of the tragic passing of their mother. After a small argument, she takes all three with some reservations. She sets to work trying to raise them, but has a lot of trouble, with them constantly waking her up. The two older boys are good and hard workers, though the youngest, Shuzo, is a brat. She works hard to discipline him, thinking that his ill mother must not have had the skills or ability to do so. One of their farming machines is broken, which spells disaster for their harvest if they can't fix it or find a replacement for it in time for The Combination. Luckily, things are looking up, with the mother thinking that this will be one of their most bountiful harvests in a long time. Even more luckily, Yakos returns home just in time for the harvest while the new children simultaneously are learning to be good boys. In the field, the mother calls Shuzo over to him, letting him take what part of her he wants, him choosing her breasts, and her being thankful that he is still a good boy.