Temptation's Workshop

John "Jim" Lawton, known as the "Tiger" of Wall Street, has raised his children, Bob and Connie, in wealth, but is now discouraged by the fact that their adulthood is being wasted by drinking and attending parties. One evening, Jim becomes severely ill. Oblivious to his father's illness, Bob awakens in the morning with a hangover, and discovers that Connie has married a penniless foreign count named Emile Borosko, who claims that his uncle has withheld his inheritance because he did not marry the chosen bride. Jim's condition worsens, and the family becomes bankrupt. When he recovers, he is completely paralyzed and speechless, and the family is forced to move into a small apartment. When Emile suggests he return to Europe to see about obtaining his allowance from his uncle, the family thinks he plans to abandon them, and Bob picks a fight with him. After their brawl, Bob realizes they have misjudged Emile, who sincerely wishes to help. One day Emile comes home in a new suit and reports he has gotten a job as a decorator with Connie's friend Vi Rantler, but that he must travel on Vi's yacht to her house in Florida. Connie immediately suspects the worst and throws him out, even though his intentions are sincere. Emile turns down Vi's offer, but Connie will have nothing to do with him. Bob is hospitalized after a beam hits him at the steel mill, and Connie is forced to go to work. Emile has been staying at a friend's apartment, but he must leave when his friend takes the decorator's job with Vi, so he tries a job washing dishes, but he is a miserable failure even at that. He encounters Vi in the park, and she asks him to take her to tea. Unfortunately, Connie is their waitress, and when she sees them together, she faints, dropping the dishes on Vi, and thereby loses her job. Although Emile tries to comfort her, she again asks him to leave. In the meantime, Jim, unable to move or speak, is nonetheless aware of his family's increasing troubles, and after hearing that they cannot afford a crucial operation for Bob, he wills himself to move his wheelchair toward the window, hoping to fall to his death so that they can use the insurance money. The same day, Emile encounters family friend Dr. Leopold, who informs him that his uncle has died and his funds are available. Thrilled by this news, Emile rushes home to tell Connie, and the news arrives in time to save Jim from his drastic decision. The family is overjoyed to see that Jim is able to move, and Dr. Leopold advises them it means he may fully recover. Sometime later, Emile has bought back the Lawton family home, and while he and Connie walk their baby in the yard with Bob, Jim acknowledges to his wife that his faith in their children is completely restored.