The story is set in a small town in Texas. Georgette Thomas and her small daughter arrive, looking for Georgette's husband who, she believes, has just been released from the penitentiary. As she later learns, he has in fact been free for some time. During the six years of his imprisonment, Georgette had worked and saved to obtain the money to help her husband get out of prison, and now she is here to join him. Slim, who had an unhappy marriage, becomes very fond of Georgette and the little girl, and feels considerable concern over their plight. When Georgette's husband finally appears, he deserts his wife and child again almost immediately; he robs his present employer, who had befriended him, and makes a calculated attempt to leave town. As he is captured, Georgette realizes that she can never look to her husband for the love and support she had hoped for, and at the end she knows she will turn to Slim, who already loves her.