An unnamed narrator muses about the layout and the mundane emptiness at a neighborhood intersection. A man later gets out of a streetcar at the intersection and enters one of the brick buildings.

A man tricks a salesman into chasing buried treasure in order to purchase a new machine he wants.

A ranching family stays optimistic during tough times by remembers their good luck last summer when they persuaded a generous rancher to work on his farm.

A mother struggles to provide her daughter with comfort in an unstable home as her husband constantly searches for new employment.

Two men from the same small town share stories about a pivotal moment from their past, revealing a decades-old coincidence that explains their drastically different paths.

A man tells his assistant about his first marriage when they go on a business trip to Chicago after the company opens up a new branch in the building he used to live in with his first wife.

A woman gets married and chooses to leave her busy job as a stenographer. She soon becomes restless in the daily short-lived tedium of housewifery and begins developing feelings for a new man.

A real estate agent obsesses over a bowl gifted by her secret lover. Over time, she becomes more infatuated with the bowl and less infatuated with her lover, yet she still must decide if she should end her marriage to be with him.

An ordinary man gets an inch and a half of mention in the newspaper after stumbling into a low stakes rescue — and the small bit of fame sends him spiraling down a dark, egotistical path.

Terrence and Ruth, a middle-aged couple, move house for a fresh start - but their new house is in disrepair. Ruth contends with sickness, unfulfillment, and her staling marriage while laboriously cleaning it.