Over lunch, a man tells a story to two companions. He learns from his doctor that he hasn't long to live. He tries to talk to his daughter, from whom he's estranged. He figures out his bank balance and visits his credit union. Meanwhile, a young man with a wife and child needs a loan to make ends meet. And, an overweight, phlegmatic cop is assigned to direct traffic at a corner where the stop lights are out. These seemingly disparate characters and events are about to meet. As the story unfolds, one of the lunch-table listeners works a crossword puzzle: what's a five-letter word that starts with "i" denoting incongruity between expectation and reality?