Despite his youthful twenty-four years, Henry Neff has no desire to climb the career ladder. He turns down attractive offers and instead seeks refuge in the lost and found department of a main train station. "I'm content to stay where I am," is his motto, and soon he finds pleasure in his new workplace, which is rich in curiosities and strange occurrences. Each day brings him encounters with people who lose and leave behind the most incredible things. Sometimes a knife thrower misses his tools, other times forgotten lounge chairs appear on the train, and on another occasion, an actress turns to Henry for help because she can no longer find her script. To establish proof of ownership, Henry charmingly asks her to recite passages from the play in the lost and found.