A man in his thirties named Finderson is outside of a farmhouse in California, waiting for the man inside to leave. He wants to be back in the city, but a police clean-up scared him away, because he is a thief. He notes that the city is more interesting for choosing victims. When the husband leaves the house, Finderson, goes inside to find the wife. The wife flashes between fear and boldness. They make small talk, but she is on edge. He asks if her husband would hire him, and she replies that she is not supposed to let strange men in, and Finderson agrees that he could be a thief. He tells her a story of a bad man in Minnesota who got a farmer's wife to fall in love with him, and then made the husband pay for him to leave. The man was actually Finderson. 
The man suddenly sees a cracked teapot on the shelf, and says his mother had one like that she would hide money in from her husband. Finderson makes the woman bring him the cracked teapot, and says that his mother's teapot is what first taught him to steal. Inside the teapot is a lot of money, and Finderson notes that it will be hard for the woman to explain to her husband. The woman says that the money is hers, and that men just like to make thieves of women. Finderson replies that it makes thieves of children, and to wait until a kid sees her drop money into the teapot. Finderson can tell by her expression that she is pregnant, and for a moment he feels weakness, but he begins his swagger again. He tells the woman that even if the husband will be angry if the woman says he is a thief, he will be more angry at his wife for letting him in.
As the husband approaches the house, the wife screams. The husband rushes in with his pistol drawn. There is silence for a long time, until the woman says that she does not know why she screamed, she just had a sinking feeling, and that Finderson is there for a job. The husband is wary of Finderson, until the wife gestures to the money from the teapot and tells Finderson he does not want to forget his money. The husband now trusts Finderson, thinking him well-off. The husband says that he needs help and he wants Finderson to stay, and he wants to be able to trust a man who is working around his wife. Finderson is trying to decide if he should leave with the money or stay to con more money out of the husband. Suddenly, the woman drops the teapot on the ground. Finderson understands that the woman is throwing her unborn child out of danger, and he tells the husband that the country life is not for him and he should get back to town.