In a fascist dystopia, an unknown man named the Harlequin commits frenetic acts of vandalism and annoyance to slightly delay the machine of state. After damaging a production line with jelly beans and causing seven minutes of lost productivity for "the System", he is called to face the menacing Ticktockman, a bureaucrat who enforces punctuality by shaving time off people's lives ("If he was ten minutes late, he lost ten minutes of his life. An hour was proportionately worth more revocation."). To dole out punishment, they need to know the Harlequin's real name, but he runs away. Eventually the man, revealed to be Everette C. Marm, is caught. During an interrogation, the Ticktockman claims that it was Marm's beloved wife Alice who turned him in. Marm is brainwashed and made to publicly take back his rejection of timeliness before he is "turned off." Afterwards, Ticktockman is informed by an underling that he himself was late and had caused a three minute delay.