Clete Vine discovers that his boyhood friend turned gangster Iggy has been murdered. He recalls the origin of Iggy's life of crime. Thirty five years ago a young Clete and Iggy saw a thug named Mr. Rose attacking a man. Clete was too scared to say anything while Iggy went to the police. Rose, however, was released. Later Iggy's father is intimidated by Rose and accuses his son of making up the whole story. Alienated, Iggy turned to a life of crime and later died from it.

Sofie Winter is a wealthy widow that tries to control the life of her son Hubert. She misses her husband dearly and often thinks of him as waiting just across the threshold for her. She wants to talk to her husband wondering whether he is lonely and wants her to come to him. Hubert convinces his mother that he knows a medium. The "medium" is actually his girlfriend Irma. Irma tells Sofie that her dead husband is lonely and that he wants her to join them. Sofie agrees to take a fatal dose of medicine, but stalls. Hubert grows upset and gets himself a drink. He soon dies. His mother poisoned the drink. She wanted her son to join his parents in the afterlife.