Like a latter-day Olympus, the large Manhattan law firm of Sheffield, Knox & Dale is so rich and influential, so full of good grey heads, that it is more like a seat of government than a place of business. To Timothy Colt, law is the very essence of America's eminence, and it is this belief that sustains him and makes him the tirelessly dedicated young lawyer that he is. Likewise, it is his wife's belief in Timothy that allows her to tolerate his grinding hours at the office and what might be regarded in another profession as neglect of his family. But as Timothy rises in the firm, he begins to see the conflict between ethics and ambition that lies at the very heart of Sheffield, Knox & Dale, and his disillusionment begins.