Summary
From the crucible of the trenches, Donald Trent, heir to an industrial dominion, sheds the inherited dogma of class stratification, awakening to a profound, visceral understanding of collective human interdependence. Returning from the front lines, he challenges his father’s staunchly unsentimental business ethos, choosing instead a path of arduous labor as a mill hand, a deliberate descent into the very societal strata his lineage once overlooked. Here, he forges a bond with his wartime comrade, Colonel Jimmy, a pragmatic machinist. A blossoming romance with Katherine Boone intertwines with their lives, particularly when they rally to support Jimmy's ailing paramour, Jennie Jones, known vibrantly as "The Jazz Kid." However, the sudden demise of his patriarch catapults Donald into the stewardship of the family enterprise, a transition that swiftly erodes his newfound empathy. As the newly appointed foreman, Jimmy's urgent pleas for critical safety overhauls are met with Donald's callous refusal, culminating in a devastating structural collapse that temporarily blinds Jimmy and ignites a fervent workers' strike. Katherine, appalled by Donald's regress, severs their engagement, dedicating herself to a progressive newspaper championing the disenfranchised. It is through her impassioned prose, echoing the very ideals he once embraced, that Donald experiences a profound, redemptive metamorphosis, leading to widespread industrial reform and their eventual union, coinciding with Jimmy's recovery and his own marriage to Jennie.
Synopsis
Donald Trent, the son of an iron-works owner, loses his belief in class distinction and recognizes his debt to others while fighting in the trenches. At home he tells his father, who abhors sentiment in business, that he wants to start at the bottom and becomes a mill hand, working near his Army buddy Colonel Jimmy, a machinist. While Donald and his sweetheart Katherine Boone are helping Jimmy care for his sick girlfriend Jennie Jones, known as "The Jazz Kid," Donald learns that his father has died and that he must take over the business. Donald's attitude soon changes, and when Jimmy, now foreman, demands repairs be made to protect lives, Donald refuses. When a wall collapses on Jimmy and he goes temporarily blind, the men strike. Katherine refuses to marry Donald, and works for an uplifting newspaper popular among the poor. After an article by Katherine changes Donald, he orders reforms and they marry. Jimmy's sight returns and he marries Jennie.
