On a bright, sunny day in an unnamed American town, an elderly lady named Miss Adela Strangeworth runs errands. Miss Strangeworth’s family has lived in the town for a long time; her grandfather built the first house—the house she still lives in—on Pleasant Street, and her grandmother planted the roses which continue to decorate her property. The roses are Miss Strangeworth’s pride and joy, and she does not let anyone touch them.
Miss Strangeworth begins her errands with a stop at the grocery store, where she briefly converses with Mr. Lewis, the grocer. Both of them discuss how it is a lovely day, though Miss Strangeworth thinks that there is something not quite right with Mr. Lewis. As their conversation is wrapping up, Mrs. Martha Harper arrives at the store. Miss Strangeworth and Mrs. Harper speak briefly, and Miss Strangeworth thinks about whether Mrs. Harper is taking care of herself.
After her conversation with Mrs. Harper, Miss Strangeworth leaves the store and runs into Helen Crane and her baby. The two discuss how the Cranes pamper their child—something Miss Strangeworth dislikes—and how Helen is worried about the child’s development. Miss Strangeworth tells her not to worry and then continues on her way. She stops by the library, has a brief conversation with Miss Chandler, the librarian, who seems distracted, and then heads home.
After arriving home, Miss Strangeworth goes to her desk and begins writing anonymous nasty letters to the people she’s interacted with throughout the day. The contents of her letters are not based in fact and could be quite damaging to their recipients’ lives. Among other things, she tells the Cranes that their child is developmentally disabled, Mr. Lewis that his grandson is stealing from him, and Miss Chandler that the man she is seeing may be a murderer.
After Miss Strangeworth finishes writing her letters, she takes a nap, eats dinner, and then goes on a walk to the post office. At the post office, she overhears a conversation between Dave Harris and Linda Stewart, who are having relationship issues, most likely because of Miss Strangeworth’s letters. Miss Strangeworth then mails two of her letters, but unbeknownst to her, a third letter falls to the ground. Dave Harris finds the letter, recognizes it as Miss Strangeworth’s, and then decides to deliver it directly to its recipient, which turns out to be Don Crane, Helen’s husband.
Miss Strangeworth walks home and goes to bed. She wakes up feeling great and realizes it must be because of the letters she sent the day before. She walks downstairs and enters her dining room, where she spots an envelope that looks surprisingly similar to one of her own. She starts to cry as she reads the contents: “Look out at what used to be your roses.”
