In the city of Jerusalem during biblical times, an extremely wealthy man named Hafid walks about his marble mansion decorated with gems. He stares at himself in a bronze mirror, his only youthful trait being his eyes. He walks to the warehouse behind his mansion, which is filled with rare goods from around the world—like honey, wool, and glass. Hafid always distributes half of his profits to the less fortunate but now decides to give away almost everything. He meets with his bookkeeper and most trusted friend, Erasmus. Erasmus calculates that between Hafid’s gold and wares, he likely has around 10 million gold talents (a talent being approximately 100 pounds of gold).

Hafid instructs Erasmus to sell everything and then redistribute the gold to the less fortunate—bar what Hafid needs to live. Erasmus is shocked and hesitates to follow orders for once, but Hafid reminds him that his plans have not failed before. He also tells Erasmus to give his emporiums to their respective managers, as well as 5,000 gold talents; he offers Erasmus himself the warehouse, palace, and 50,000 gold talents. Erasmus struggles to accept, worried about what will happen to Hafid. Hafid compliments Erasmus’s ability to live for others and explains that he hopes to fulfill one last promise before joining his wife, Lisha, in the afterlife.