When Raybe Brown is released from prison, he journeys home to confront an old schoolteacher who bullied him as a child. Miss Stevens, a feeble old woman, welcomes him into her home, but quickly realizes that he hasn't just come for tea. As Raybe reveals his story, he also reveals a harbored resentment of Miss Stevens, who he blames for his misfortunes, and who, phased out of a career in education for her elitist practices, never approved of Raybe because of his orphaned, underprivileged upbringing, and never will.