In a Chicago dwelling, a father observes the doorknob that he has polished. He lives with his eight-year-old daughter, wife, and infant son. His son cries rarely, but when he does, it is a loud bellow that demands attention. His daughter approaches the age where she has realized jealousy, and expresses that she wants to be her younger brother’s age. The father appreciates his wife immensely for her responsible nature. The father writes a proof about their troublesome neighbors, three boys who throw eggs and tomatoes at their house and at the other neighborhood kids. These boys have grown even more violent, and have broken windows in his family’s basement and set their garage on fire. The boys' father is a large war veteran with a gruff, intimidating presence. Every time someone brings up a report about his kids’ bad behavior, he beats his sons brutally. As a Christian family, the father and his wife pray for their neighbors and try to ignore the violence as they remain friendly. One night, he receives what seems like a prank call from a girlish voice who pretends to be the violent boys' mother. The voice instructs the father to check his basement, because a loud sound has been coming from his family’s house. The voice hangs up, and the man takes a flashlight outside and checks the basement as well. He does not find anything of note and goes to bed exhausted. A couple of weeks later, the father opens his front door to see the neighbor boys on his step. The middle son asks the father to help their mother bring their refrigerator up from their basement because their parents are getting a divorce. The father goes to help the mother of the boys unpack the house along with another man who is acquainted with the neighbor’s family. Later, the father learns that the boys' mother turned hysterical from the misfortune of her circumstance and tried to injure herself. He tries to visit her at the hospital but is told he needs permission from her psychiatrist. In the meantime, the boys' father comes back to live with his sons. Later on, the village decides to demolish the neighbors' house to make space for a new parking lot. The bulldozer finally arrives to finish the destruction and the man feels the vibrations while as he stares at the doorknob he once polished.