On a snowy night in Dublin at the turn of the century, the elderly Morkan sisters are giving their annual dance and supper for the Feast of Epiphany. The focus of the story moves among the guests, until it settles on the Morkans’ nephew, Gabriel, and his wife, Gretta. As the guests are leaving, they hear someone sing "The Lass of Aughrim," which moves Gretta so deeply that she confesses to Gabriel her love for a young man, whom, she believes, died because of her. Gabriel realizes he has never felt true love nor could he inspire the passion his wife once felt for another.