- Twenty-year-old Lena Grove arrives in Mississippi on foot. She is pregnant and has been traveling for four weeks to get there.
- Lena has come to Mississippi all the way from Alabama, and she's looking for Lucas Burch, the father of her child.
- As Lena rests in a ditch on the side of the ride, Armstid happens upon her in his wagon and offers her a ride.
- After chatting for a while, Armstid offers to let Lena spend the night with him and his wife, even though he knows his wife is probably going to throw a fit! Lena agrees and the two head to Armstid's.
- Mrs. Armstid gives Lena some money and Armstid drops her off at a storefront where she'll be able to catch a wagon into town.
- On the steps of the store, a man named Varner tells Lena that the man she's looking for is named Bunch, not Burch. Bunch works at a planning mill in Jefferson. Lena sets her sights on Jefferson and waits at the store until a wagon appears to give her a ride.
- The driver of the wagon listens to Lena's story on the ride. As the two approach Jefferson, the driver points out two columns of smoke; it seems there's a house burning in Jefferson.