Maurice Hilliard is a mechanical draughtsman producing technical drawings on an annual income of 100. He longs to be free from the monotony of his life and work, and is led by his feelings of hopelessness into drinking alcohol. While travelling by train one day, he meets Mr Dengate, a former debtor to his deceased father. As Dengate was bankrupt at the point of Hilliard's father's death, the debt was not repaid, but as they meet on the train, Hilliard shames Dengate into repaying the debt of 436. Hilliard then commits to the plan of living without working, as a "free" human being, for as long as the money lasts."