Narrated in the third person, the story opens with a description of the type of man Carpenter Petty is—manly, hot-tempered, and often driven to anger that his wife, Valjean, calms for fear of how far he might go.

That introduction foreshadows the response that Carpenter is likely to have when he learns that their 12-year-old collie has been killed. They find Lady “between the toolshed and the back porch” (86), where she drags herself after being “shot twice. Once point-blank. Once as she tried to get away” (89). Carpenter describes that specific detail with emphasis to his son, Dennis—ensuring that the information “[sinks] in, like slow poison” (89).

With pride in “his ability to draw manly conclusions” (90), Dennis deducts that Lady has been killed by someone she knew and trusted, then demands a manly response. Carpenter leaves to question the two boys who may have witnessed the event, and while he is gone, Valjean discovers his gun is missing and assumes Carpenter has taken it. When he returns, she confronts him, but he does not have the gun. The story ends with the phone ringing and the implication that Dennis has the gun.