Dennis Cooper is a young Cooper (profession) apprentice living in poverty, working for his father and determined to marry Griselda Fishfinger. Dennis' father becomes terminally ill, and at his deathbed, his father speaks badly of Dennis. The young man resolves to make a pilgrimage into the city and find work before returning to Griselda. Griselda throws a potato at him, which he keeps as a cherished memento.