A university research scientist, about to lose funding and status, has a lab accident and discovers he can see people's true intentions -- making his situation even worse.

Shifting from one pocket to another, from one man's drama to another, a lowly dollar bill, 'one buck' takes us on an odyssey through the heart of a forgotten town in Louisiana.

The film explores the complexities and many paradoxes found within the frustrations, beauty and bewilderment of life. The story is a gradually unfolding spiritual crisis, juxtaposed through two central characters: a young child, full of curiosity and wonderment, and a hard-working, 32 year-old butcher struggling to begin his own family life. It ultimately exposes the harsh social difficulties in sustaining a modest, middle-class life within the contemporary American culture of systemic decay.