At the start of "The Dead," Gabriel Conroy, who works as a teacher and enjoys writing in his free time, attends a Christmas party with his wife, Gretta, hosted by his aunts, Julia and Kate Morkan. Despite the festive atmosphere, Gabriel feels uneasy due to several miscommunications and uncomfortable incidents that occur throughout the night. While speaking with the maid, Gabriel makes a small mistake, which she responds to with bitterness.

Afterward, while dancing with a school colleague, Miss Ivors, Gabriel engages in a dispute with her regarding Irish nationalism, and her reply causes him to feel insulted. Subsequently, when giving a toast to the hostesses of the event, Gabriel struggles to decide on the appropriate words to use and spends the rest of the evening doubting his decision.

Gabriel discovers his wife listening to a tenor singing an Irish ballad in the music room when it's time to leave for their hotel. This evokes feelings of love in Gabriel's mind towards Gretta. While on their way home in a cab, Gabriel looks forward to an intimate night with Gretta but refrains from approaching her until they are alone. However, Gretta appears preoccupied and fatigued, which frustrates Gabriel. Finally, when Gabriel does approach her, Gretta astounds him by revealing her love for a young man named Michael Furey, a country boy who died when he was only 17.

Gabriel reflects on his wife's crying herself to sleep and contemplates what this new information reveals about his life and sense of self. While snow starts to fall, he envisions Michael Furey's grave being covered with snow, and ponders his own mortality and the inevitability of death for all.