The story unfolds in London's Hyde Park during autumn, where Morton Crosby, a cynical man, encounters a disheveled stranger who attempts to engage him in conversation. The stranger, a professional beggar, spins tales of his misfortunes, seeking sympathy and perhaps financial assistance. However, Crosby, unimpressed by the stranger's attempts at storytelling and dubious claims of past grandeur, counters with his own fabricated identity as an Afghan, further complicating their interaction.