The narrator begins by describing the fog outside of her window. She lives in a poor milling town in Virginia. She used to run a boarding house for mill workers, but now she lives alone. As the whistle calls, the men all march to work. The narrator hones in on one man in particular -- Hugo Wolfe. She's going to tell his story.
Deborah works at the mill with some other women, but the work has taken a toll on her physically. She's got a hunched back. Upon returning home to her boarding house one night, she is greeted by her usual boarder, Mr. Wolfe Sr. along with his granddaughter, Janey. Janey quickly confides that her father is staying at the "stone house." This is prison. Deborah offers the girl some food, before realizing her favorite boarder, Hugo, hasn't returned home yet.
Deborah takes Hugo a meal, walking the whole distance back to the mill. In their brief conversation, her affection for Hugo becomes clear, but he seems to have a crush on young Janey. He's not like the other mill workers, more of a loner. He's the sensitive artist type who devotes his free time to sculpting creations out of some of the leftover clay at the mill. When Dr. May and the boss' son, Kirby, walk by, they notice one of Hugo's statues and comment on its skill. They casually lament the station of the working class for a moment before moving in. While the men talk, Deborah manages to steal the man called Mitchell's wallet.
Back home, Deborah confesses to stealing the wallet and gives it to Hugo who decides to keep it as reparation for his miserable life. Not long after both of them are found out for the theft and thrown in prison. As a Quaker woman ministers to Deborah, she observes how poorly Hugo is adapting to confinement. He eventually loses his mind with anguish and kills himself. The Quaker buries Hugo and promises to help Deborah when she's released.
