A Season of Grace is a novel by Filipino writer N.V.M. Gonzalez, first published in 1956. It takes place in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, during the post-war era. In the barrio of Alag, only two out of fifteen huts stay occupied throughout the year. One belongs to the fisherman Tata Pablo and his wife Rosa, while the other holds the midwife Nay Kare. One day, they meet a man from Batangas named Epe Ruda, who soon opens a firewood concession in the area.

One of the men Epe Ruda hires is Doro, whose responsibility is enlisting Epe Ruda's debtors for woodcutting work. Doro also helps Epe Ruda prepare for his wife Tiaga’s arrival on the island. Soon after arriving, Tiaga tells Epe Ruda to start charging for the rice he has been feeding his workers.

In October, Doro and his wife, Sabel, help harvest Blas Marte’s rice clearing. Sabel leaves their infant son, Eloy, to Clara, a crippled young woman. Sabel tells Clara how she and Doro left Tara-Poro Island because there is no more land left for kaingin—or swidden farming. Upon arriving in Alag, however, she recalls how municipal officers strongarmed her into giving up two of her handwoven mats.

At the clearing, Sabel joins Doro, Blas Marte, his family, and other Poroanons in the work. After a lunch of sweet potatoes, Blas Marte shares his belief that mice are after his crops. One of the older Poronoans remarks that the mice can understand when humans speak ill of them.

After harvesting, the Poronoans help thresh the rice husks. All the while, Doro shares how he was able to stake out a homestead in Bondoc. He also explains how Epe Ruda supplied him with rice seeds, demanding a large cut from his harvest in exchange. At sundown, Blas Marte distributes his harvest among those who helped.

At Doro and Sabel’s hut, Sabel worries about their upcoming harvest and her pregnant state. When she suggests trading some rice for fresh fish at the barrio, Doro acquiesces to her cravings. While waiting for her husband to return at nightfall, Sabel is frightened by vague figures of men and women harvesting their rice. Doro arrives to drive them away but insists that the figures are merely mice.

In November, after harvesting their crops, Doro and Sabel move on to other clearings to help with the work. At the end of an admittedly poor harvest season, they learn that one of the Poronoans, Nong Tomas, has died. The burial is held at the barrio and lasts for nine days. They use Nay Kare’s image of the Immaculada Concepcion, which she had bartered with Epe Ruda for.

Because they fail to pay Epe Ruda his share of the harvest, Doro becomes his errand boy and is forced to move his family temporarily to Alag. However, the relentless work causes him to drink heavily. One night, a drunk Doro comes home late and rages at Sabel for ignoring his demands. The couple’s quarrels become more and more frequent.

Two months later, Doro notices Sabel is wearing a new blouse and demands to know where she got it. He flogs her, accusing her of prostituting herself. However, she reveals that Epe Ruda gave it to her while she was doing housekeeping work at his house. Carrying Eloy, she walks out of their hut.

Ashamed of his behavior, Doro eventually follows his wife to Nay Kare’s hut. There, he finds Sabel having already given birth to their second child, Fortunato. He returns Sabel and Fortunato to their hut and leaves Eloy with Nay Rosa. Nay Kare drops...