One evening, in the 1920s, in a small town outside of Chicago, two strange men dressed in identical derby hats and too-small black overcoats enter Henry’s diner and sit at the counter. Another customer, Nick Adams, sits at the other end of the counter and watches them as the manager, George, tries to take their order. The men—whose names are revealed to be Max and Al—try to order a roast pork dinner, but George tells them that this is unavailable. Frustrated, Max asks why it’s on the menu if they can’t order it and George explains that it is a dinner option and dinners are not ready until 6:00. George looks at the clock and tells them it’s only 5:00, but Max points out that the clock actually says 5:20. George explains that the clock is actually 20 minutes fast, which further frustrates Max and Al. Once again, Max tries to order a dinner and George tells him he can’t order it yet and has to choose between sandwiches or breakfast options. Max accuses George of deliberately trying to work against them, saying, “Everything we want’s the dinner, eh?” Finally, Max and Al order some of the options George lists for them.
While they wait for their food, Al asks what kind of drinks they can order, implying that he is looking for alcohol. George, however, follows the Prohibition laws of the 1920s and tells them they only have non-alcoholic drinks. Max sarcastically says Summit is a “hot town” and Al asks what people do there for fun at night. Max makes the snide remark that everyone comes into the diner for “the big dinner,” finally frustrating George enough that he makes his own sarcastic remark that Max was right. In retaliation, Al starts calling George a “bright boy” and turns his attention to Nick and asks his name. Nick tells Al his name and Al starts calling him a “bright boy,” too.
George finally brings Max and Al their food and they start eating. When they finish, they abruptly order Nick to go around behind the counter and tell George to call the cook out to the front of the diner. The cook, Sam, comes out for just a moment before Al says he is going to take Nick and Sam back into the kitchen while Max and George stay out front. In the kitchen, Al, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, ties up Sam and Nick and puts towels in their mouths so they can’t call for help. In the front of the diner, George asks Max what’s happening, and Max reveals that they are there to kill a Swede named Ole Andreson. Max asks George about Ole’s habits and George reluctantly confirms that Ole does frequently come to the diner for dinner at 6:00.
George asks Max what Ole did to him and Al that makes them want to kill him and Max tells him that it’s just “to oblige a friend.” Al starts to get nervous about how much Max is revealing to George and tells him he is talking too much. Max tells George that if anyone does come in, he needs to tell them that the cook is sick, and if they insist on getting food then he has to prepare it himself. For the next hour, George frequently checks the clock and, at one point, he goes back into the kitchen to make a sandwich for a customer and sees Al with a sawed-off shotgun and Nick and Sam tied up together. At 6:55, George tells Max he doesn’t think Ole is coming in, but Max insists on waiting a few more minutes. When Ole still doesn’t show up, Max and Al prepare to leave. Before they go, Al asks what they should do with the hostages and Max insists on leaving them alive despite Al’s concerns that it would be “sloppy” to leave witnesses.
After Max and Al leave, George unties Sam and Nick and tells them what Max and Al were planning. George tells Nick that he should go find Ole Andreson at his boarding house and tell him about the hitmen, but Sam tells Nick to “stay out of it” because it “ain’t going to get you anywhere.” Despite these warnings, Nick goes to Ole’s room to warn him. Nick is shocked to discover that Ole already knows there are hitmen looking for him and has actually been preparing to leave his room and let them kill him. Nick offers to go to the police or do something else to help Ole avoid death, but Ole tells him that he’s “through with all that running around” and is only working up the courage to leave his room. Nick continues to make suggestions, but Ole finally tells him there “ain’t anything to do” and dismisses him.
George returns to the diner to tell George what happened. Sam refuses to listen to what he has to say and stays in the kitchen, but George does ask him a couple of questions and spends a few second thinking about what “an awful thing” it is. Finally, George decides to put the situation out of his mind and shows this by picking up a towel and cleaning the counters. Nick, however, has a difficult time working through his feelings about the situation and says he “can’t stand to think about it.” In response, George tells him he “better not think about it” and the story ends.
