As the narrative begins, Sarah Penn questions her husband about the men digging in a nearby field. Adoniram Penn attempts to dodge the question. However, Sarah insists on knowing the truth, and Adoniram finally admits that the men are excavating a cellar for a new barn, right where he had promised to build a new house for their family.

Returning to her house, which is significantly smaller than the existing barn, Sarah learns from her son, Sam, that Adoniram intends to build a larger barn to accommodate more livestock he's planning to purchase. While washing dishes with her engaged daughter, Nanny, the daughter remarks that it's "too bad" her father is constructing a new barn instead of a much-needed home. Sarah explains to Nanny that "men-folks" have ways that are vastly different from women and often perplexing. When Nanny expresses her desire for a parlor to host guests, Sarah insists that welcoming visitors in a tidy kitchen is perfectly fine, reminding her daughter that many people endure worse living conditions.

Sarah confronts Adoniram, expressing her belief that their current home is insufficient. She reminds him of his promise, made forty years ago when they married, to build a fine new house on the spot where the new barn is being constructed. Despite her earlier defense of her "nice clean kitchen," she echoes Nanny's wish for a parlor for the upcoming wedding. Adoniram refuses to engage in the conversation, and Sarah asserts that his silence is because he knows she is right.

Later, as Nanny works on her sewing in the kitchen, she confides in her mother about her embarrassment over having the wedding in their cramped, worn-out kitchen. Sarah tries to comfort her by suggesting they might be able to put up new wallpaper by then. Nanny, half-jokingly yet with a tinge of frustration, proposes holding the wedding in the new barn. Sarah Penn considers the idea thoughtfully.

Throughout the spring, the barn construction progresses steadily. The week before Adoniram intends to move the livestock into it, he departs for a few days to explore purchasing a new horse. That morning, Sarah appears deep in thought—her eyes reveal doubt, and her forehead is furrowed. She talks to herself, working through a dilemma, and then suddenly declares that her husband's absence at that time "looks like a providence," implying it is a fortunate act of God.

When the men deliver a load of hay intended for the new barn, Sarah directs them to store it in the old barn instead. After lunch, she instructs her children to gather their belongings while she packs the kitchen items into a basket. She supervises the relocation of all the furniture, the stove, and their possessions across the field to the new barn. Sarah hangs quilts in front of the box stalls to create bedrooms, and the harness room, "with its chimney and shelves," becomes "the kitchen of her dreams."

Word of the unusual move quickly spreads through town. Neighbors speculate that Sarah Penn is either crazy or "lawless and rebellious." The minister makes a fruitless visit, but Sarah tells him that the matters in her home are between herself, the Lord, and her husband. On the day Adoniram is expected home, many townspeople gather along the road to witness his return. Adoniram first checks the house, then the shed—which now accommodates one of the new cows that the old barn can't hold. He leads his horse to the new barn and, upon opening the doors, discovers his family inside.

Adoniram is taken aback. Sarah calmly explains that the family has moved into the barn. She tells him he needs to install some windows and partitions and purchase new furniture. Adoniram appears stunned, scarcely reacting as Sarah helps him remove his jacket and encourages him to wash up for dinner while their son takes the new horse to the old barn. After dinner, Sarah finds Adoniram in tears. He vows to make all the improvements to the barn that Sarah requested and admits he hadn't realized she was so intent on having a new house.