Jesse is a Black man who has worked as a servant and assistant to a white family for decades. Jesse constantly boasts about his loyalty to Andrew and Margaret, the couple that employ him. The loyalty seems to be mutual, as the couple come into town numerous times because of the fights that Jesse often gets into when drunk.

Though most of the trouble Jesse encounters is minor, Jesse is then accused of being an accomplice to a murder. The boyfriend of another servant of Margaret went missing and his corpse was found days later. When called to the stand, witnesses recount seeing two Black men carrying the body, though they have no credibility. Andrew's positive testimony on behalf of Jesse's character has much more credibility, which saves Jesse from bigger trouble. Nonetheless, a car Jesse borrowed was spotted at the scene by witnesses with credibility, so he ends up serving time.

Decades after that debacle, Jesse's life has calmed down. He works and lives above Andrew's office, acting as his assistant—though in Andrew's old age of seventy, he hardly goes into the office anymore. With nothing to do, Jesse begins indulging in the liquor Andrew keeps in his office, which leads him into a drunken rage one night. Smashing bottles on the walls, Jesse locks himself in the office and calls out for Margaret.

Margaret's nephew calls her early in the morning to tell her the situation, and she agrees to head over with the family doctor. Once there, Andrew and the doctor try to calm Jesse to no avail. Margaret finally goes up to see Jesse through the glass door, which at least stops his screaming. Once they can get Jesse out, the doctor determines that it is best for him to go to an asylum. The nephew sees Margaret walking back from the door, and knows that she looked because she wanted to see what a hard life was like, never having lived one; when she saw it, it was too much for her. The nephew thinks that all this time, Jesse was a protector for his aunt and uncle, but no one truly protected him.