The story begins after Vic Lang’s father has left the family. Vic is sixteen, and his mother Carol has taken to cleaning houses. She is very good at it and is well-regarded by her clients. Vic doesn’t like this, and thinks the work is undignified, but he helps her do the work when she asks, as he knows that she is proud of her good name.

Carol is accused of stealing a gold earring when Vic is home from law school, and she is given a week’s notice by the client. Vic urges her not to go back to clean the house one last time, but she does anyway, and he goes along, angry at the indignity of the accusation and his mother’s pride in finishing out the contract.

Vic tells Carol that her client just wants an advantage over her, and when they go back to the house he cuts corners and cleans lazily while she still does her usual excellent work. He also snoops, discovering that the woman is a professor at the university he attends, which causes him to wonder if she knows about him, and if the fact that she didn’t report the theft to the police was an act of mercy toward him.