For Gold or Soul? The Story of a Great Department Store

A salesgirl working in a large city department store uncovers workplace abuses, petty and serious crimes, and moral compromises as a chain of incidents — false alarms, harassment, theft, and a death — embroils employees and management. Her inquiries provoke confrontations among partners, clerks, and inspectors and expose schemes that force reckonings with conscience and corporate priorities. As secrets are revealed, arrests and confessions follow, leading some characters to repentance and others to legal or social consequences. The narrative traces labor conditions and corporate ethics while following individual choices that push the establishment toward reform and a different outlook for its staff.