Four years ago, Tom Haslett left his job as a dairy farmer to pursue a career selling adjustable-beds. He was attracted to the profession, he says, because he "wanted to help people a bit." Now, he's one of his company's top-grossing salesmen. Hurt & Save follows Tom as he ventures into the sanctity of people's homes and bedrooms in order to demonstrate his bed's healing qualities. Along the way he's introduced to a canary by a spry widow, gets a tour of a lewd painting collection, listens to a depressed man's account of his suicide attempt, and hones his sales techniques to hilarious effect at a monthly sales meeting. Many of Tom's customers are glad to have some company but, though often eager to talk, they rarely buy. Between visits -- where he repeats his sales pitch with a sometimes poignant resolve -- he steals naps in his car and daydreams about farming.

Alternately serious and bizarre, Hurt & Save gives us a fascinating portrait of a man whose work uneasily combines elements of social work with a salesmanship calculated to wrest money from people who have none to spare.