This Thanksgiving dinner novel tells the story of John Inglefield, a blacksmith, and his family, gathered around the fireplace, with an empty chair for his deceased wife. Suddenly, the missing daughter who had been estranged from the family walks in, and the story shows how the family views her—as someone who should never have returned. The story touches on sin and the consequences it brings; a classic topic that Nathaniel Hawthorne, this story's author, is best-known for.