At the height of the Great Depression, salesman Mitchell Slate is down on his luck and heading home to a disappointed and desperate family when his train he veers off the rails and transforms into a macabre and darkly fantastical journey into his own fragile soul.

In a far too near-future, the world's economy has collapsed. Amidst an unprecedented recession, the only remaining bastion of capitalist prosperity is the new 'Human Stock Exchange', where individuals are listed on the market. Felix Fox sells cars over the phone, a poorly paid, thankless, dead-end job. But he is determined to make it big, at any cost. When the opportunity arises to be listed on the HSE, though... will the cost turn out to be too high?...

Felix has done it. His painstaking efforts have paid off, and he is now listed on the Human Stock Exchange. A new, more affluent life begins - new house, new car, new opportunities - though he hasn't lost his burning desire to climb higher and higher.