A bright and idealistic young man steels himself for the dog-eat-dog business world, only to flounder in a job market packed with thousands of other hopefuls.

After his tiny penmanship causes him to score poorly on scholastic qualifying exams, a bright and idealistic young man steels himself for the dog-eat-dog business world, only to flounder in a job market packed with thousands of other hopefuls. Desperation leads him to take a job as a purchasing "middleman," supplying his unscrupulous customers with sundries.—Swarup Basak