Mr. and Mrs. Markham occupy the attic of a small house in a university town in the 1960s, largely keeping to themselves. Their neighbor Mr. Kimmel and landlords Mr. and Mrs. Dundee gossip about them, wondering why Mr. Markham is home playing organ music in the early afternoon rather than working, and why their rent is always late. Mr. and Mrs. Markham first met in a museum in New York City, back when Mr. Markham sustained himself on his family fortune. Expecting a child, they married, but they lost the baby. A few years later, the fortune ran out, so the couple searched for work. After moving around in search of work, it seemed that every job was in some way detrimental to Mr. Markham's health, causing him to grow frailer and frailer. They move once more, hoping to find suitable work at the university. Mr. Markham gets a job as a janitor, but is fired after a few weeks. Supported only by Mrs. Markham's work at the library and the gradual pawning off of Mr. Markham's fine art collection, they struggle to make ends meet. On May 1st, when the rent is due, Mr. Markham takes his own life.