A man named Benjamin introduces his cousin Brantford, who is 20 years younger than him. Brantford has a greasy mustache, and wears clothes with food stains on them. When Benjamin visits New York City where Brantford lives, Brantford insists on buying lunch. Brantford admits that “willpower is not [his] strong suit," and how he has a hard time keeping a job. He prefers to spend time with animals who strangely seem to adore him. When asked about his recent state of mind, Brantford says that he has been feeling uneasy, as if he had murdered someone. When Brantford mentions this feeling of guilt, Benjamin flashes back to his first moments in New York during the 1970s when he arrived as an aspiring actor. It is there that he met his lover, Giulietta, at a bistro where he worked. Despite their intense love-making, Benjamin had neglected her emotionally and missed her company when facing job-related struggles alone. Back in present day, Benjamin reveals that he is married to Giulietta and has two sons, Jacob and Elijiah.  After visiting with Brantford, Benjamin goes to Brantford’s mother, Aunt Margaret, who tells Benjamin about Brantford’s young, 18-year-old girlfriend, Camille.  Benjamin jumps to a more recent memory five years after Brantford had passed away in a car accident. Benjamin sees Camille holding her and Brantford’s child, and he gives Camille a hug. He asks Camille to coffee and tells her he wants to get to know her. Camille, however, senses his predatory nature and bluntly tells him that she does not want his “belated charity.” She asks him for money to help her and her child’s financial needs, and he does, as he feels this is morally right.  On his way home, Benjamin feels the urge to shoplift at a market which he claims is easy due to his skills as a previously aspiring actor. He takes an apple and a bouquet of flowers and brings them home to Giulietta. He rings the doorbell to the house but it is broken. He waits outside staring at his wife inside who is tutoring another child and his son who is reading in the grass. He feels immensely happy and thankful to be alive with a family like his own.