Melton, a charmless cluster of various houses and shops on unpaved road, is between a town and a village in terms of size. Cora Jenkins has lived there all her life, despite seeing her younger siblings leave. She initially stayed to take care of them until they matured enough to move away, then had to stay to take care of her mother. Her father manages to survive off of his paycheck, but spends his days in a drunken stupor and occasionally relies on Cora, in the employ of the rich Studevant family, to make ends meet. She has worked tirelessly for them for years—and without complaint—seemingly owned by them due to her reliance on their wages for economic stability. Though Cora is known for being humble, she once had a passionate affair with a white man, Joe, who had come from overseas and worked at the livery-stable. When she became pregnant with their daughter, everyone shamed her. Joe left town, her parents wailed, the Studevants requested her to stay home. Nevertheless, Cora loved her baby and refused to care about what others thought of her. She named her daughter Josephine, after Joe.              Around the same time, Mrs. Studevant had a daughter as well: Jessie. Unfortunately, Josephine passed away after contracting whooping cough, and the normally-humble Cora cursed her death, decrying God for taking away her child. The next week, Cora returned to work, cherishing little Jessie as her humble life continued without Josephine. The years pass, and Jessie is scorned by Mrs. Studevant for not being very intelligent or living up to the standards set by her older siblings. As such, Jessie frequently spends time with Cora in the kitchen, chatting and bonding with the single person who finds no fault in her. Their normal routine is interrupted when Jessie confides in Cora that she has found a lover, Willie Matsoulos. She has gotten pregnant. Cora assures Jessie she will handle things and calmly tells Mrs. Studevant about the situation. Although Cora tries to placate Mrs. Studevant, the woman flies into hysterics. She whisks her daughter away to Kansas City, but when they return, Jessie seems to have lost an immense amount of weight. Mrs. Studevant claims she had indigestion while on the trip, but Jessie tells Cora that her baby is gone now. The girl refuses to eat and begins wasting away while her mother rampages through town, accusing Willie Matsoulos’ family ice cream shop of selling tainted goods and ultimately driving the Greek immigrants away. Jessie’s health continues failing, and she soon dies.              The day of the funeral is beautiful, as are the plans and preparations for the ceremony. After the various songs and memorials given in honor of Jessie, the reverend allows Jessie’s family and friends to look at her one last time. Cora takes this opportunity to shine light on Jessie’s death, condemning the Studevant family for killing her and her child. She sobs and screams for the poor girl, the men of the family dragging her away to the backyard. She then collects the few belongings she has at the Studevant house and leaves for good, living a quaint life with her mother and father in Melton.