To earn enough money for college, a high school graduate takes a grueling factory job. He expects his only takeaway from the work to be a paycheck, but a mysterious coworker teaches him about the world and his place in it.

A young boy tries to help his parents make money by selling ice cream at his mother's work at a Snow White Laundry. An accident with one of the machines causes chaos and the narrator is forced to leave.

Three boys navigate their youth in Chicago, but are forced to grow up quickly when they start cooking drugs for money.

A man recalls the story of a young family in a small town during the Great Depression who were forced to make ends meet in clandestine ways.

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.

Three young siblings feel the effects of the Great Depression through their father's salary cut and change in mood. They hold a sales event to help their father which turns out to be a success.

A slice of grim parts of life

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

A young teen in Southern California, after several months of living on the streets, tries to rebuild her life. She suddenly disappears after six months of sobriety, leaving her family to yet again wonder if she has relapsed and returned to live on the streets again.

An orphan-turned-salesman loses his job and resorts to bargaining off pieces of himself in an effort to appraise the value of human life.