The girl's sister worked in white folks' kitchens, but the girl refused to scrub and clean for white folks. Instead she worked at the sawmill, sweeping the sawdust into the holding gate. One night the gate crashes into her. Her eyes burn with sawdust, she starts seeing shadows. She sees and head and shoulders, then sagging breasts, then wings like crow feathers. A woman appears and stares straight at Letty. She realizes death has come for her and begs her to leave. Miss Death introduces herself as Letty and refuses to go. Letty wears a mask on her face, out of which fire ants start crawling.

Letty tells the girl her own horrific story, of constant assault by her employer and harassment by his wife, until she tried to poison the woman with mulberry sap. When the husband found out, he whips her until she's dying, and puts a mask full of fire ants on her face.

Then Letty takes the girl.