The story opens with a ball at the residence of George Ross, Republican candidate for governor. When the activity of the evening is at its height the men are not to be found. The women become the victims of disagreeable lassitude. The ball is a failure. In the meantime the men are the guests of John Ross, the practical joker. They deserted the allurements of the ballroom to attend an amateur prizefight held on a barge, young Ross's newest idea. When John Ross returns home, "four sheets in the wind" and piloting Jim, the victor of the fight, his reception by his family is not what might be termed friendly. They are weary of his pranks and one after another deliver the broadside, "Why don't you tell the truth and go to work." George Ross, his father, is in no sense dishonest but is a pliant tool in the hands of Henry Drew, Republican State Chairman.