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.

A father tells a story about his deceased wife and the wild traditions they used to have involving alcohol as well as the disapproval his mother-in-law had about their relationship.

When a mysterious businessman moves into the house next to his, a South African widow finds himself and his painter daughter embroiled in a political scandal.

In a wild west boardinghouse, a young woman nurses an injured miner back to health while she reflects on her past relationships with men.

Essie, a biographer, finds out she has more in common with her subject Matthew Corley, a sleeper agent, when she recreates him as a simulated figure that can be accessed with the purchase of her book.