Glory, the youngest child in the Boughton family, returns to her childhood home in Gilead, Iowa to care for her aging, widowed father. She recounts memories of her childhood in her family home, her father’s pride and joy, “however awkward its appearance” (3). Glory describes the dynamics within the family and the distance forged between her siblings and her brother Jack, the longtime troublemaker of the family. In adulthood, seven of the Boughton children visit their father often while Jack has remained estranged from the family for 20 years.

Glory notes how Gilead has changed since her childhood. Although many neighbors have sold their land, the Boughtons “had kept their land, their empty barn, their useless woodshed, their unpruned orchard and horseless pasture” (8). Glory recalls a dispute over land with a neighbor who planted an alfalfa patch on part of their property. Agnostic, the neighbor targets their father who is a minister. The children destroy the alfalfa patch and travel to the neighbor’s house to apologize at their father’s insistence. The neighbor’s wife harasses them and calls their father a hypocrite who “‘earns his money from the ignorance of the people!’” (11). As a result, their father gives up any claim to the land.

Glory cries easily and maintains a reputation in her family of taking “everything to heart” (14). Now at 38 years old, Glory attempts to avoid unpleasant memories or thoughts to avoid upsetting her father. Glory remembers when Jack impregnated a young girl when she was 16. Glory’s parents did not explain to her the moral implications of Jack’s actions. Glory struggles with returning to life in her parents’ home and questions what she has accomplished in life. Her fiancé of many years has left her, and she wonders if teaching is the right profession for her.

Her father receives a letter from Jack, who announces that he will be visiting Gilead soon. At her father’s request, Glory travels to the home of her father’s best friend, Reverend John Ames, to inform him of Jack’s impending visit. Her father eagerly awaits Jack’s arrival for weeks. Jack finally arrives, and Glory greets him.

Glory struggles with her mistrust of Jack. She wonders if he is hiding alcohol in his room. Despite this skepticism, she prepares a dinner to celebrate Jack’s homecoming. As time passes, Glory notices that Jack avoids being alone with Glory and only emerges from his room when his father is awake. To connect, she brings Jack a newspaper. He offers Glory some money to help pay for groceries. The two discuss the book Jack is reading written by W. E. B. DuBois and play a game of monopoly. Jack eagerly awaits mail for him. He receives birthday cards from the other Boughton siblings and a mysterious card from a child. Jack grows more comfortable being alone with Glory and begins to read at the kitchen table as she works.

Glory recalls when her older sister Grace moved away and left Glory alone at home with her parents. She remembers her father’s heartbreak over Jack’s choice to abandon the young woman he impregnated and how her father drove to the woman’s home to offer money to her family. In the present, Glory and her father continue their attempts to engage with Jack. When Jack leaves to go into town, Glory and her father worry that Jack has left for good. Glory sneaks into Jack’s room to see if he has packed his belongings. He soon returns and seems to sense that Glory was in his room.

Internally, Glory questions why Jack has returned to Gilead. She takes a walk and thinks about how Jack has been helpful with caring for her father. Despite acknowledging this help, Glory grows more frustrated over Jack’s coldness to her and her father’s preoccupation with Jack. She prays for more patience and reveals that she is the only sibling who knows about Jack’s abandonment of his child. Her father asked her to keep what she witnessed a secret. She returns home later that night.

Before dawn, Glory wakes up and prepares pancakes for her father’s breakfast. Her father shares with Glory that he fears that she and Jack are not getting along. He falls asleep at the table, and Glory cries. Soon, Jack wakes up and takes their father upstairs so that Glory can get some more sleep. In the morning, the family has breakfast. Jack begins to work in the garden, and Glory soon joins him. She shares with Jack that their father is concerned about their relationship as siblings. They work together in the garden and chat about their father’s best friend, Reverend Ames, and his new marriage to a younger woman.

Later, the family plays a game of chess. Eventually, Glory and Jack are left alone to finish the game. They argue over Jack’s past indiscretions, which Glory witnessed as a child. Their father interrupts the conversation. Glory later answers a phone call from a woman asking for Jack. The woman hangs up before Jack can get to the phone. Jack interrogates Glory about what the woman said, and Glory shares that the woman was calling from St. Louis. He reveals to Glory that he cannot call the woman, as her father has told him to keep his distance. Hours later, Jack receives another phone call from a Mrs. Johnson and tells Glory and her father that it was about a missing dog.

Jack and Glory grow closer over their shared loneliness and sadness. Jack attempts to neaten the outside of the house by trimming and planting and continues to work on a car in the barn. Glory recounts the memories of the horse named Snowflake her family once owned. Jack travels into town every day to send a mysterious letter. Glory retrieves some old clothes of her father’s and washes them for Jack before venturing into town alone. She meets Jack in town at the hardware store, where he watches news about the civil rights protests in Montgomery, Alabama on the televisions on display. Glory decides to order a television for the house. She and Jack walk home together.

Jack and his father watch the evening news. Jack grows uneasy watching the protests. He and his father argue about Jack swearing. Distressed, Jack leaves. He returns and asks Glory about how to carry on after doing “something terrible” (99). In the spirit of her father, Glory offers the solution of repenting and moving on. Jack continues to watch the news for information about the protests in Montgomery.