Maria, a middle-aged unmarried woman working at a charitable laundry in Dublin, finishes her workday while thinking about her excitement to go out that evening. She prepares for the women’s tea, which is her last task of the day before going to celebrate Hallow Eve with her friend Joe Donnelly’s family. Maria cared for Joe when he was a boy, and he considers her a second mother. While he has repeatedly asked her to come live with him, Maria is used to her life at the laundry and she always declines.
At the laundry, Maria is generally well-liked for her kindness and her ability to diffuse conflicts; the matron of the laundry describes her as a “peace-maker.” As the women file in for tea, Maria serves them tea and slices of barmbrack, a traditional Hallow Eve cake. Amidst much “laughing and joking,” two of the women make jokes about Maria’s age and lack of a husband. Maria joins in on the laughter, despite her “disappointed shyness” and discomfort.
Finally finished with her evening’s work and able to escape the women’s banter, Maria goes into her bedroom to change her clothes in preparation for the Donnellys’ Hallow Eve event. Seeing her body in the mirror, she thinks fondly of how it used to look and admires its current appearance, too.
Maria takes a Dublin tram to a cake shop, in which she buys a bag of many small cakes for the Donnelly children. She then goes to a second shop, hoping to find a special treat for Joe and Mrs. Donnelly. The woman behind the counter in the second shop is annoyed that Maria is slow in choosing a cake, so she cruelly asks if Maria is buying a wedding cake. Maria is embarrassed, but she shrugs it off and leaves with a slice of plum cake.
On her crowded tram ride from the second cake shop to the Donnellys’ home, an elderly man offers Maria a seat. He makes pleasant conversation with her about the cakes she is carrying and how nice it is to spoil children with treats, and Maria seems to enjoy his company.
Having finally reached her destination, Maria receives a warm welcome from the Donnellys and presents the Donnelly children, as well as two girls who live next door and have come for the holiday festivities, with their cakes. Unable to find the plum cake she bought for Joe and his wife, Maria concludes that the elderly man left her so “confused” that she must have lost the cake on the tram. This revelation makes her feel “shame and vexation and disappointment.” Joe assures Maria that her losing the cake is not a problem.
Casual conversation and holiday festivities begin. Joe tells Maria a story about his boss that Maria does not understand; she does not ask for clarification, but she tries to express sympathy and understanding anyway. Soon after, Maria raises the topic of Joe’s falling out with his brother Alphy and suggests that they try to reconnect. Mrs. Donnelly agrees with Maria, but Joe refuses to discuss the topic and ends the conversation.
The two next-door girls organize Hallow Eve games for the group. In one game, each person is blindfolded and has to place their hand on an object that will represent their fate. One of the girls plays and finds a ring, which represents upcoming marriage. The group then coaxes Maria into playing, and she picks a lump of clay, which symbolizes impending death. The group whispers uncomfortably as Maria, confused and blindfolded, stands with her hand still on the clay. Without acknowledging what has just happened, she intuits that she should choose a different object, so she places her hand on a Bible, which signifies entrance into a convent.
At the end of the evening, Mrs. Donnelly encourages Maria to sing for the group before the children go to bed. While Maria is hesitant, she sings an aria. After singing the first verse, about dreaming of wealth and luxury, Maria fails to move on to the second verse, about dreaming of suitors and love, repeating the first verse instead. No one says anything about her repetition, but Joe’s eyes tear up, as he seems to recognize her suffering.
