The novel tells the story of a romance gone awry and the dramatic events that follow, which entertain the residents of the small town for years after.
Charlotte continues to live in her parents' home, taking on work as a seamstress and wedding assistant.
Sylvia Crane, Charlotte's aunt, is involved in a long-term courtship with Richard Alger that provides a source of wonder to the townspeople.
Richard finally takes control of the situation, returns Sylvia to her home, and promises to make up for the bad ways he has treated her.
Deborah eventually becomes aware of what her daughter has been up to when she is making a dress for Rebecca and notices her swollen belly, recognizing that she is pregnant.
This is quickly put to an end when Charlotte becomes aware of what her cousin is up to and Barney begins to avoid Rose.
Rose moves on to Tommy Ray, despite the fact that she knows he is not a good match and she still thinks of him as a boy.
Silas Berry, father of Rose and William, further ostracizes himself through his greed when he offers to let his children have a party at his cherry orchard for all the young people of Pembroke.
The party ensues happily, but as the guests are leaving, Silas approaches them with a bill for the cherries they ate.
This action leads to the utter embarrassment of William and Rose, and prevents Silas from making a profit from his cherry orchard.
Because Deborah Thayer viewed her other children, Barney and Rebecca, as lost causes, all her hope was placed in her youngest son who is quite ill with some type of heart ailment.
Having been ill his entire life, Ephraim always received stronger amounts of Deborah's sternness.
The story is drawn to a close with the hopeful image of Barney walking up to the Barnard house, and announcing to Charlotte that he is back.
He does not hold the typical place of the patriarchal father, and instead allows his wife, Deborah, to rule the house.
She serves as the de facto family patriarch and rationalizes her harsh behavior through her religious motives.
Rebecca plays the role of the "fallen woman" in the novel, as she begins in a place of respect and falls down the social ladder due to her premarital affair with William.
Richard Alger is the man who eventually marries Sylvia Crane, after an approximately eighteen-year courtship.
While she is very upfront and her personality can seem slightly abrasive, she has a certain kind of loyalty to her family members that cannot be shaken.
Silas is a very greedy man, whose constant search for economic power causes him to be disliked by many of the townspeople.
When Rebecca is banished from her home, it is Mrs. Sloane who finds her, takes her in, and walks her through the process of marrying William.
Rose eventually chooses him as her marriage opportunity despite the fact that she sees him as a boy, not a man.
The content of the book appealed to a large audience, who were already avid fans of Freeman's short stories.
At the time, the novel was regarded as "the most profound, the most powerful piece of fiction of its kind that has ever come to the American press" by Kate Chopin and received similar praise from other contemporary writers.
Due to its overwhelming popularity, Pembroke brought in a substantial amount of money for Freeman, mostly through its publication in the Harper's Weekly.