The Dead tells the story of Gabriel Conroy over the course of one night in 1904. Conroy is an intelligent man who, despite his high thoughts of himself, is awkward in social interactions and insecure in his relationships with others. In fact, his relationship with his wife, Gretta, can be deemed particularly pathetic; it is on this night that Conroy realizes how little he knows of her at all. The Dead engages the reader as it portrays the discoveries that one man makes as he is led towards an epiphany, where the dichotomy of past and future battle for importance within human relationships.