The night watchman at the wax museum is a simple man, and he loves his job, especially the wax figure of Napoleon, whom he considers a special friend. Though a bachelor, he is a romantic, and gets caught up in the affairs of a young couple who use the wax museum as their meeting place.

During a vacation in France, old friends and family struggle to connect with each other when they are unable to see past their own problems.

A Wyoming native unsuccessfully jumps between jobs over his lifetime to support his large family. Through bankruptcy and loss, he perseveres and continues to look forward to his next venture.

Facing two unwilling booksellers in a bankruptcy case, a lawyer is forced to reckon with arson and a faked death.

Two former Yale roommates, now middle-aged divorced men, reunite in Montana when one of them is being investigated for embezzlement. During the brief time they spend together, the other friend wonders why the clearly unsuitable friendship has gone on for so long.

An Italian man recounts how his father came into money upon arriving in the United States but spent and then lost it all when his factory caught fire. Despite his Papa’s veritable financial ignorance and dangerous pride, the son asserts none of it was ever his father's fault.

A year after a city council in a small Tokyo town votes to support an abandoned elephant, the old animal and its long-time caretaker mysteriously disappear. A local PR agent attempts to track the pair down.

Extraterrestrial visitors promise solutions to America's financial, environmental, and energy problems - in exchange for the country's black citizens. A cultural struggle breaks out to determine whether the trade will be made.

On a Saturday, a young physician and his wife visit a bankrupt couple at their house. The conversation shifts from tension to excitement to anger and in the end everyone leaves somewhat alone.