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Glory describes the cemetery where Reverend Ames’s wife Lila cares for the graves of the Boughton and Ames family. She references the grave of Jack’s daughter, whom he abandoned. She compares Jack to Cain, who was pardoned by the Lord for his sin of killing his brother Abel. Glory continues to read her Bible faithfully to please her father and considers the messages of God’s faithfulness and the importance of home that her father ingrained in his children. She contemplates her empty dreams of creating a new home for herself with a husband and children.

Jack interrupts Glory during one of her Bible reading sessions. He asks if she still prays and if she is “going to try to save my soul” (103). Lightheartedly, they discuss religion. One day in the kitchen, Jack shares with Glory his hopes for the future. He hopes to fix his father’s car, find work near Gilead, and move there with a woman named Della. Glory now feels self-conscious about reading her Bible openly around Jack and ponders “what a soul is” (110). One night, their father cannot sleep, so he asks Glory to find Jack and have him play the piano for him. She finds Jack reading in the car. He hides a folder when he sees her. Inside, Jack plays for their father who interrupts the playing to express his regrets for not being the best father to Jack. He places Jack’s hand over his heart and confesses that his one hope was not to lose Jack.

Distressed by the conversation with his father, Jack asks Glory to stay up with him to keep him from venturing to the bar to drink. Jack reveals that he never actually graduated from college, and Glory confesses that she was never married, despite leading her family to believe she was. They share their respective stories of how they met their romantic interests. Through their conversation, Glory realizes that her fiancé approached her because he saw her as vulnerable. She thanks Jack for helping her recognize this. They separate to go to sleep. Glory hears Jack leave the house and return five hours later.

The next morning, Jack returns from his daily walk to the post office. He shows Glory a newspaper article about burglaries in the area and tells her that he thinks the townspeople suspect him. Glory reassures Jack and makes him breakfast. He asks Glory to reconsider leaving Gilead after their father’s death. Their father joins them for breakfast and offers Jack and Glory access to his bank account. Unnerved, Jack believes their father offers him money to keep Jack from stealing. Worried the stress of being accused may lead him to drink, Jack begs Glory to help him stay sober. He jokes with her about her fiancé and makes Glory cry.

During a trip in town, Jack takes a copy of The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 by Friedrich Engels and gives it to Glory. She admonishes him for stealing it from the library. Jack believes that their father is resisting death because he is afraid “to leave me behind, still unregenerate” (143). Glory suggests possibly lying to their father about Jack’s salvation to ease his mind. Jack refuses. Glory travels to the hardware store to purchase an antenna for the television and learns that the thieves have been caught. She returns home and informs Jack that he can relax.

Jack reads a book titled Something of Value to his father. The book is about Kenya and concludes with a white character murdering an African character. Their father comments that segregation might be the only answer to interracial violence. The next day, Glory reveals to Jack that her fiancé was a married man. Later, their father asks to speak with Jack and apologizes for not baptizing Jack’s deceased daughter, even though they are Presbyterians who do not believe in baptism. He believes that this will be upsetting to Jack. To bond with him, he begins watching television with Jack. They argue again when his father shares his opinion that Black people “appear to be creating problems and obstacles for themselves” (156). Jack brings up Emmett Till’s murder, and they continue to argue.

The next morning, Jack announces his plans to attend church. He hopes to garner some favor from Reverend Ames. Glory invites the Ameses over for Sunday dinner. In the afternoon, Jack successfully starts the car he has been fixing. He drives it around Gilead with Glory and their father. Their father reminisces on the Gilead of his youth. Jack accidentally turns onto the road that leads to the home of the young woman he impregnated. He struggles to maneuver the car to turn around. They return home.

At home, Jack attempts to gift Glory the car. She refuses and grows emotional as she asks Jack not to disappear. On Sunday, Jack heads to church. Their father is overjoyed and asks Glory to cut his hair for him. Jack returns home and informs them that he was too afraid to go. His father comforts him. Jack asks Glory to cut his hair next. As she cuts his hair, Jack cries and admits that he didn’t attend church because of his shame over his scandalous past. He is nervous about seeing Ames at dinner.

They prepare for dinner. Their father ruminates on the past. The Ameses arrive, and Jack appears downstairs late and dressed in his father’s old clothes. They begin the awkward dinner. Jack says a blessing over the food that he prepared ahead of time and compares himself to Lazarus. He gifts Reverend Ames’s son Robby with a new baseball and plays hymns on the piano. As the guests prepare to leave, young Robby discovers Glory’s stash of money in the piano bench. When her father insinuates that Jack may have hidden it, an angry Glory swears on a Bible that she placed the money there. As she and Jack clean up later that night, she questions Jack and Della’s relationship. She has noticed that Della does not write Jack back. He reiterates his love for Della.

Glory buys Jack some clothes. He thanks Glory and questions how Glory lost all her money by giving it to her fiancé. When Jack asks if she can forgive her fiancé, she says no. They discuss his relationship with Della and his hopes of reconciling with her. Reverend Ames returns that evening to talk with their father. Jack plays the piano for them. His father asks Glory to tell Jack that he is proud of him.