A conversation with his former lover opens a man's eyes to his tendency to flee rather than confront the hopeless reality of his own life.

A man in a recovery ward is allowed to go out for a day to see his wife, but his discomfort in the outside world manifests as paranoia. He returns to the hospital early, where he finally feels normal.

An encounter with a grieving ex-soldier forces a Women's Army Corps member to realize the army may have robbed her of her ability to see death as anything but a necessary sacrifice.

During WWII, an American paratrooper deployed in England misses his wife, but finds himself feeling closer to her after enjoying the company of another woman.

Reeling from his recent divorce, a man tries and fails to reason with his ex-wife. He hopes to find solace in the arms of his girlfriend, but realizes that sex will not fix the wound left by his dead marriage.

A wealthy woman's ploy to flaunt her wealth is foiled by her old friend's seeming indifference to opulence - until they part, and the friend asks for money. The afternoon is ruined when the woman realizes that her obsession with money has ruined her outlook on life.

A young girl in the 1920s spends her evenings talking to her building operator while her mother is at work. When her favorite operator is fired, she is forced to quickly learn lessons about trust and relationships.

In an attempt to impress his emotionally distant father, a boy ridicules his mother, who has loved him unconditionally even in his father's absence. Wracked with guilt, he yearns for her forgiveness - only to find that she does not hold it against him.

A professor finds himself attracted to one of his students, allowing her to skip the final exams - but her resultant grade causes her to lash out at him and reveal harsh truths about his own life that he finds difficult to accept.

An American colonel posted in post-war China dislikes his younger colleague intensely, but does not know why until he realizes he is being taunted about his advanced age - an act of disdain familiar to him because he was guilty of it in his own youth.