The stories in Let the Scaffolds Fall feature characters at different stages of their lives, thematically linked by the emotional and psychological demands they experience striving for achievement and attempting to connect past with present. In one story, for instance, titled "Chris," a man looking for work believes he's found his meal ticket when he's hired at a tech company while a new co-worker refuses to accept his presence. In another story, "Fragments of a Lost Patient," a therapist returns from vacation and discovers one of her patients has died, though it's unclear if it was suicide or an accident. In the final story, "The Last Dictator," an actor from the United States assumes leadership of a foreign country based solely on his resemblance to, and ability to play, the dying dictator.