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

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.

When a young Italian girl goes on vacation for Christmas with her family, her father splurges on her in Verona, and she decides that this is what true happiness is for a child.

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 married couple tries to make ends meet for their hungry and sick children in the midst of the Depression but soon realize that sheer willpower cannot save them from the ruthless winter.

A wealthy man in Chicago suddenly learns about the untimely death of a poor woman he'd been dating. Confronted with her child, whom he'd begun to develop a bond with, he must determine to what extent he will allow his greed to overcome his compassion.

When a woman finds her purse stolen, she retraces the steps of her eventful day only to realize that the encounters, and her life as a whole, are empty and purposeless.

An elderly storeowner's quiet life is interrupted by a visit from a poor young man looking to sell a valuable item, which he claims has the power to bring happiness in desperate times.

A poor father reminisces about the life of his deceased daughter while sitting next to her grave in the hot summer of California.

When a mother of three children visits her home country of South Africa for Christmas, her depression at how her life has failed her renders her neglectful, putting both her eldest child and sister in irreparable danger.