The narrator tells us that his brother has become popular with his friends and neighbors, but that he has not taken off his expensive leather jacket. He asks the doctor where he got it, and the doctor tells him that it is an "abandoned laundry" . The narrator's family and friends begin to suspect that something is wrong. The doctor tells them to burn the jacket, but the narrator burns the jacket in the backyard. The next day, the family learns that their brother has passed away.