Steel mill foreman Chris Bennett (Barton MacLane) is well-liked by his men. His rapport with them leads to his promotion to general manager, and then vice-president, over Ed Tanahill (John Eldredge), cousin of Harrison Balding (Joseph King), the mill's owner.

Bitter about being passed over, Tanahill and his secretary, Vida (Mary Astor), plot to keep Chris from interacting directly with the workers. With Tanahill's encouragement, Chris spends his time golfing and monitoring progress on the construction of his expensive new house. His old friends in the mill feel abandoned. Only Tom Martin (Joseph Crehan) is sure that Chris is still on their side.

Chris's wife Bessie Bessie (Dorothy Peterson) is also unhappy about the change in their life. She misses her old friends and begs Chris to return to his former job. When Balding takes a vacation, leaving Chris in charge, things completely fall apart at the mill. The men are angry that they must work overtime for no extra money to repair a mistake that Chris failed to catch. But Chris knows only what Tanahill tells him, or fails to tell him, and Tanahill successfully creates a toxic relationship between Bennett and the factory workers.