A son tells a series of stories, most of them about his father and stepfather. As the son describes a robbery that took place at his house in high school and his experiences with his father, a former Jehovah's Witness and current alcoholic, he begins to recall details from his childhood.

In an unlikely encounter, a homeless teenage boy recounts harsh events of his life to a writer. He nonchalantly tells of an employer whose assignments caused him to have permanent physical and mental damage.

The characters found in jokes are forced to act out the jokes every time they are told.

At a medieval-themed amusement park, a man is put in a difficult situation when he is given a promotion that could help his family in exchange for covering his boss' crimes.

When a woman talks to a man in bed, their conversation reminds her of a short story she read earlier, and she wonders if she is stupid like the story's character.

An author discusses with his friend the best way to write about a poor aunt. Their words take on a new power when he manifests a literal poor aunt on his back and draws in spectators.

A man living full-time as a caveman in a historical exhibit where he isn't supposed to speak English and has to pay for his poop to be removed is pressured by his exploitative employer to report his work partner's violation of their rules, despite knowing that she needs to send her family money as desperately as he does.

A man goes to the movies with his father-in-law and uses an assisted hearing device to listen in on the old man's thoughts, discovering that his father-in-law may be a murderer.

A man visits a woman he once had an affair with twenty years ago, in the hopes that he might rekindle their relationship. The woman asks her friends to join them for dinner, as they must help her judge the man's intentions.

After struggling to appeal to their state governor, a dysfunctional family anxiously awaits the public execution of a relative. As they wait at home new of the execution, tensions and strife erupt in a dispute over the relative's innocence.