A successful gentleman whose ventures have recently failed goes on a miserable quest to find a seam of ore, following a questionable character who claims to have found it.

A wealthy woman's ploy to flaunt her wealth is foiled by her old friend's seeming indifference to opulence - until they part, and the friend asks for money. The afternoon is ruined when the woman realizes that her obsession with money has ruined her outlook on life.

Two worlds collide at an upper-class event, where a man working for a charity grovels for donations, and a millionaire French aristocrat looks for a cause that will make her seem altruistic.

An armless man begs on the streets of Madrid to earn money for his nagging wife. When he unexpectedly earns enough in a day to buy the shoes he's always wanted, his temptation and priorities are put to the test.

A Scottish Foreign Scholar tries to help the beggars he encounters at his university in India, but finds his outlook on life greatly changed by the sincerity of those he once looked down upon.

A boy learns a lesson when he is recruited to help a blind man panhandle at an intersection.

When an impoverished man shows up to a wealthy woman's door in dire need of help, she gives him ten dollars and tries to send him on his way. The man insists that he return the next day to thank her husband for the money, but she isn't quite sure if things are as they seem.

A humble cambist's life is upended when a local noble decides to use him for party tricks.

A group of working class people run a dangerous path toward a promised Elysium, and those who survive are rewarded with nothing they can appreciate or comprehend.

An imaginary Black servant on a turn-of-the-century plantation ends up permanently changing the owner's fortunes — despite being a figment of his imagination.