The Flaw in the Sapphire

The narrative follows Dennis Muldoon, a singular young man whose comic appearance and manner contrast with his earnest ambitions as an old-clothes peddler. After his father angrily severs their business tie, he leaves for New York with little more than resolve, takes lodging at a sordid boardinghouse called The Stag, and sets out determinedly to find respectable employment while resisting the pull of his former trade. The opening episodes mix light satire and sympathetic observation, tracing efforts at self-improvement, encounters with urban eccentricities, and the awkward social adjustments that accompany a bid for upward mobility.