A fugitive finds refuge within a traveling carnival comprised of a tarot card reader and her catatonic/telekinetic mother, a blind mentalist, a bearded lady, and conjoined twins, amongst others. The carnival is owned by the mysterious and unseen Management, who has designs on the fugitive, for the boy can heal the lame and raise the dead--at a price.

A jovial 60-year-old claims not only to see dead people but also receive messages from them that she passes on to their loved ones who pay $40 per half hour for her services.

Friar Galvao began a tradition among Brazilian Catholics of handing out tiny rice-paper pills, inscribed with a Latin prayer, to people seeking cures for all manner of ailments. Although he died in 1822, Brazilian nuns still toil in the Sao Paulo monastery where Galvao is buried, preparing thousands of the tiny pills for free daily distribution. Each one carries these words: "After birth, the Virgin remained intact. Mother of God, intercede on our behalf."

Four million Americans believe they have been abducted by extraterrestrials. Many of them share personality traits and sleep disorders. Most of them have pre-existing new-age beliefs - they are into bio-energetic therapies, past lives, astral projection, tarot cards.

A clockmaker finds a cardboard box, then opens two holes at the bottom and discovers that he can see the future through them.