The story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" begins with a family planning to take a vacation to Florida. The Grandmother, who does not want go, tries persuading the family to go to Tennessee instead, where she has friends. She has read about a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit, who is on the run, heading for Florida. On the day of the trip, ironically, the grandmother is dressed in her Sunday best. She is decked out in white gloves and navy blue dress with matching hat. She is the first one in the car and ready to go. .
As the trip progresses, the children act like brats. The grandmother makes the mistake of telling the children the story of a nearby house that has a secret panel. The children scream until the father, Bailey, gives in and takes them to see the house. Along the way, the Grandmother realizes that she may have been mistaken about the location of the house. On the way down the long windy road, the cat, which the grandmother has snuck into the car, gets out of his cage and jumps on Bailey's shoulder, resulting in the car being overturned. As everyone is getting themselves together, a car with three men approaches. The grandmother recognizes the Misfit at once. The Misfit reveals himself as polite and sociable and even apologizes to the grandmother for Bailey's rudeness to her. However, the Misfit does not waste any time as he asks one of his cronies to escort Bailey and John Wesley off into the woods to meet their fate. The grandmother tries to appeal to the Misfit by saying he isn't a bit common. The Misfit goes on to tell a story about how his father died and the Misfit's subsequent incarceration for the crime.
After the Misfit has the other men take the mother, daughter, and baby to the woods, the grandmother is left alone with the Misfit, who continues to talk about how Jesus was punished. The grandmother responds in the only way she knows how to by clinging to her superficial beliefs about "good blood" and behaving as a lady would.