Meet Dennis Whitehead. He endured a bitter childhood, watched his mother work herself to an early grave, and is determined to "never be poor again." One day, Dennis meets a librarian named Sara. Drawn to her laughter and gentle spirit, he begins to fall in love with her. He reveals his secret fear—that he has inherited his father's alcoholism—and vows to stay away from drinking. One hot evening, however, Dennis's steely resolve weakens; he downs several glasses of wine and then makes love to Sara, who believes his protestations of love and promise to marry her. When she conceives a child, he brings her five hundred dollars and tells her to "take care of the problem." He never sees Sara again. Having learned that Sara recently died and has mentioned him in her will, Dennis makes the trip back to Carlysle and witnesses the burning of her hundred-year-old home. The story unfolds as Dennis realizes that one young witness of the fire is his son.