“At the ’Cadian Ball” follows the lives of two young men, Bobinôt and Alcée, and two young women, Calixta and Clarisse, in Louisiana during the late 19th century. Bobinôt is an Acadian farmer who is desperately in love with an unruly but beautiful young woman in his community, Calixta. As his affections are unreciprocated, he decides to refrain from attending the upcoming ball, though he knows Calixta will be there. However, after hearing that Alcée, a handsome young Creole planter, will be attending the ball, Bobinôt becomes worried that Alcée will seduce Calixta and decides to go as well.
The story then shifts to Alcée, who lives on a plantation with his mother, Madame Laballière, and her beautiful goddaughter, Clarisse. Alcée confessed his love to Clarisse a few days prior to the story’s present in an outburst of passion, and a scandalized Clarisse rejected him. Right after the rejection, a cyclone destroys the 900 acres of rice crops that Alcée planted. These two unfortunate events lead a despairing Alcée to attend the ball, in hopes of relieving his frustrations. Alcée leaves his plantation for the ball around midnight, with the help of his black manservant, Bruce. Clarisse incidentally witnesses Alcée’s departure and calls out to Bruce from the gallery to ask where Alcée went. After asking many times, she finally learns from a reluctant Bruce that Alcée went to the ball. Scandalized and disturbed, she returns to the house. At the ball, Alcée’s presence causes quite the stir: men admire him for showing his face after losing his crops to the cyclone and women admire him for his good looks, charm and wealth.
Eventually, Alcée and Calixta escape to the gallery for a rendezvous, and flirtation ensues. Bobinôt tries to find Calixta but fails. Alcée witnesses this and asks Calixta if she will marry Bobinôt and she replies with a noncommittal answer. The two continue to flirt on the gallery and Calixta continues to fall for Alcée’s charms until a servant interrupts and informs Alcée of a visitor. Alcée brusquely dismisses the servant and continues to flirt with Calixta. Then, Clarisse appears, startling Alcée, and asks him to come home while refusing to tell him what is wrong. He readily complies and heads home with Clarisse, forgetting Calixta and leaving her on the balcony. Bobinôt finds a dejected Calixta on the gallery and offers to walk her home, a proposal she accepts with indifference. On their way home, she halfheartedly tells Bobinôt that she is willing to marry him, and Bobinôt is elated.
The story then switches to Alcée and Clarisse. Alcée has not stopped asking Clarisse what is wrong. When they temporarily make a stop, she replies that she was afraid he might go to Assumption, where he would be with Calixta. After some prompting from Alcée, she finally admits that she loves him. Alcée, thrilled, forgets all about Calixta and the cyclone, and the two continue home together. In the distance, they hear shots ringing out, signaling the end of the ball.
