1926. The Chinese Civil War. Drifter Ted Beaubien is captured and forced to witness his girlfriend's execution. He finally escapes and vows to avenge her death by taking on a deadly mission to buy guns abroad and smuggle them back. Arriving in his hometown, Ted is shocked to find his elderly mother and younger brother George are penniless. But time is running out, and before he can help them, he's got to get the guns. In setting up the deal, Ted meets and falls for the seductive nightclub owner Maud Ryan who introduces him to the treacherous gangsters who will sell him the artillery. For a gun-runner, falling in love is like pointing a pistol at your heart - and pulling the trigger!

The unexpected return of his ex-wife and the assembly of a group of protesters both threaten to wreck a corrupt contractor's inauguration party for his new superhighway.

A health problem causes a business leader to think about what will happen to his company after his death.

A group of friends reunite after thirty years of separation.

Robert decides to drop everything and go back to his homeland, accompanied by his daughter and a couple of friends.

The folks who populate the rundown hotel in this story have all come there from someplace which offered a modicum of hope. Gloria, who runs the place, earns most of her money as a stripper. She lives there with her two daughters and a son with an untreated brain tumor. Charlie, who is forever in and out of jail, is Gloria's sometime lover. A recent check-in is there hoping she can work up the courage to commit suicide, since her rich doctor husband ran off and left her. Another resident is Tim, who keeps company with his dog and his booze in equal measure. A schoolteacher comes by from time to time, hoping to do these people some good, but in choosing this lot to work with, she proves to be just as much of a loser as the rest of them.

Industrial pollution causes water poisoning and generalized sickness in a nearby city and is the start of a major news scandal.