Based on a story by renowned sci-fi writer Frederick Pohl. Twelve-year-old Jonathan Bender is mercilessly and cruelly dominated by his callous parents. After Mom wins the lottery in spite of her stupidity, they are assailed by money-seekers, including a very dubious old acquaintance who is now the miraculously clever inventor -- he baldly claims -- of pills that will transform anyone into an unthinkably powerful intellect. When Dad throws him out, scattering the pills on the floor, little Jonathan is assigned the task of cleaning up.
—Jasha