Officer Ferguson settles in a town where his brother-in-law has recently opened a successful factory. The chief of police knows from the beginning that he won't last, so he assigns Ferguson to a relatively quiet portion of town for traffic direction. The biggest concerns at his intersection are both young, faster drivers and older folks who drive too slow and make dangerously wide turns. When Ferguson is forced to pull over one Mrs. Johnson for this offense, she redirects his telling off to voice a concern about her neighbor Mr. Hardt, an old and unstable man who was attempting to drive again against the wishes of all around him. Ferguson visits the man several times to dissuade him, and on one occasion Mr. Hardt convinces him to stay for a long and convoluted conversation.

Mr. Hardt painstakingly explains to Officer Ferguson his theory of life - things made or done with fear of the past or future will have inherently limited lifespans. The roadway built to last only 15 years is already breaking down, the house Mr. Hardt built because he needed money from rentals is breaking down too. These things were not built for the joy of building and thus are unnatural - and correspondingly, living restrainedly just to prolong life is not natural living, Mr. Hardt believes. For most of his life he lived just for the joy of living, and now he is forced to live unnaturally because the people around him forbid him his pleasures in the name of preserving his life.

Officer Ferguson begins visiting Mr. Hardt regularly, slipping him chocolate bars (which are prohibited due to his diabetes) and books, listening to his talk, and driving him downtown to hear him reminisce about what used to be there. But soon the cook Selima witnesses this happening, and Ferguson is dissuaded from visiting. Without this pleasure he becomes dissatisfied with his work. The next time he is called to see to Mr. Hardt, the man has died. The funeral is small, and Mr. Hardt fades quickly out of the memories of most. Officer Ferguson resigns, and Mrs. Johnson is finally hit by a truck making one of her dangerous wide turns.