Summary
A perennially luckless drifter, Nathaniel Dunham—equal parts charmer and cautionary tale—accepts a sardonic wager: pocket a paltry five hundred dollars, vanish into the rural nowhere of Radville, refurbish his scruffy image, and ensnare the affections of Josie Lockwood, heiress to a banking fortune. What begins as a glib con game mutates into something perilously honest: Nat, stationed behind the cracked counter of Sam Graham’s moribund apothecary, transmutes worm-eaten shelves into bustling commerce, and, more startlingly, discovers that his pulse races not for the porcelain-privileged Josie but for Betty Graham, the druggist’s quietly radiant daughter. The final tableau—money spurned, friendship rewritten, heart claimed—radiates the hush of a man who has stumbled upon authentic prosperity only by relinquishing the mirage of it.
Synopsis
When perpetual failure Nathaniel Dunham is fired from yet another job, his successful friend Harry Kellogg offers him $500 if Nat will move to a small town, change his ways and marry a rich heiress. Nat agrees, moves to Radville and accepts a job in Sam Graham's dilapidated drug store. Taking an interest in the business, Nat surprises himself by turning it into a financial success. On the verge of accomplishing his goal of marrying Josie Lockwood, a wealthy banker's daughter, Nat recognizes that he is in love with Graham's daughter Betty. Realizing that he has achieved contentment, Nat entreats Harry to cancel their agreement and settles down to a life of happiness with the druggist's daughter.
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