Beard is an American who has recently divorced. Having kept his inheritance money, he quits his job and travels to Germany for some sight-seeing. However, once he gets there, he falls in love with a young sex worker named Inger. He cancels his plans and spends two whole days with the girl. On the third day, Inger says she needs a break. Beard is hurt by Inger's request, upset that she wants to leave even with all the time and money he lavishes on her. He offers to double her fee. At the same time, he privately feels ashamed because he is afraid he is repeating the mistakes he made with his ex-wife. Inger, on the other hand, is surprised that Beard is so hurt, but she is weary because she has heard stories about clients who get too attached. She turns down Beard's offer and compares his treatment of her to the indulgent treatment of a monkey. Beard tries to convince her to change her mind. Inger eventually suggests that she will go home that night, but that he can come to her apartment the following night. The next day, Beard goes to the barber shop and shops. He returns to the hotel to get ready to see Inger, but he is displeased with his reflection when he looks in the mirror. He decides to buy Inger a beautiful present to compensate for his appearance. He stops at a jewelry store and sees a pair of gold earrings set with rubies. He finds out they cost half of his inheritance money and leaves the store. However, the earrings linger in his mind. He decides to return to the store and impulsively buys the earrings for Inger. But once he gets to Inger's apartment, her roommate Greta informs him that she has left. Greta invites him in to see for himself that Inger has packed up her things. Inger had even taken her pet monkey with her. Greta tells Beard a little about Inger. Greta feels fooled by Inger, and she says she never should have trusted her, or let her rent a room. The entire time, Beard finds himself intensely aware of Greta's long legs, and he has to excuse himself from the apartment. Beard spends the rest of the night trying to hunt down Inger based on the little information she told him to no avail. He returns to his hotel room. There, he unwraps the earrings and stares at them, feeling that they are worthless. At noon the next day, Beard checks out of the hotel and boards a train. Once the train has pulled out of the station, Beard realizes he left the earrings on his bedside table at the hotel. He becomes agitated and goes to look for a conductor, but as he is about to open the door to exit his compartment, there is a knock. He opens the door to reveal Inger. Suddenly, as he looks at her face, he realizes how plain she looks, and that the earrings would not suit her anyway. So, he ceases to care that he's forgotten them. He lets Inger into the compartment and lays her down on the floor, where he proceeds to penetrate the girl.