he。wealthiest。man。in。the。world,。John。P.。Merrick,。is。a。private。person。who。likes。to。stay。anonymous.。One。of。his。many。assets,。and。a。minor。one。at。that,。is。Neeley's。Department。Store.。There。is。labor。unrest。at。the。store,。most。of。the。employees'。anger。directed。at。Merrick,。who。they。hang。in。effigy。outside。the。store。despite。not。knowing。what。he。looks。like.。Merrick,。not。happy。at。what。he。sees。going。on,。decides。to。go。undercover。working。at。the。store。to。mete。out。the。rabble-rousers.。Undercover。as。Thomas。Higgins,。Merrick。gets。assigned。as。a。sales。clerk。in。the。shoe。department,。where。he。is。taken。under。the。caring。wing。of。his。colleague。Mary。Jones,。who。sees。in。Higgins。a。poor。man。needing。the。guidance。of。friends.。One。of。those。other。friends。is。Elizabeth。Ellis,。who。Mary。sees。as。a。possible。"Mrs.。Higgins".。Mary's。boyfriend。is。Joe。O'Brien,。the。chief。organizer。of。the。employees,。four。hundred。of。whom。are。following。Joe。in。the。charge。against。the。store。and。Merrick.。At。the。store,。Merrick。not。only。wants。the。list。of。the。four。hundred,。but。also。wants。to。change。those。things。he。doesn't。like。at。the。store,。chief。amongst。those。being。his。shoe。department。section。manager,。Mr.。Hooper.。But。as。Higgins,。Merrick。also。begins。to。see。things。a。little。differently,。specifically。from。an。employee's。point。of。view.