In a distant time, in a faraway land, there stand a magnificent city where everyone lives well. When an old beggar woman arrives with twelve books containing all the wisdom in the world, the mayor of the city laughs at her. What need has he for these ancient books? The city is prosperous and its people have everything that money can buy. Each summer, the old woman returns to the city with fewer books for sale, only to be turned away again. Yet each winter, the mayor dreams of the old beggar woman and the books he has rejected, and, when hard times hit the city, he knows he has made a foolish mistake. Almost too late, the mayor realizes that he needs the old woman's wisdom if he is to restore the city's good fortune.