For Love or Money

Edmund Gilbert, born into great wealth, loses all his money with the onset of the Great Depression, and suddenly finds himself penniless. His beautiful daughter Lillian faces their new challenge with poise, and the two prepare to receive a group of financiers in the hope of restoring the family fortune. With his sudden lose of fortune, Gilbert has failed to pay his large electrical bill, and Paul Martin, a young electrical inspector, is sent to the Gilbert home to turn off their electricity. Lillian intercedes and convinces Paul to leave the electricity on until her father has finished his conference with the financiers. In the basement of the Gilbert mansion, Paul discovers $100,000 in his tool kit. He believes that the money is stolen, as he thinks it was placed in his tool kit by an escaped criminal while he rode on the underground, and immediately plans to turn it over the police. Lillian intercedes once more and convinces Paul to allow her to use the money during her father's conference to impress the would-be investors. Paul agrees, and the elder Gilbert then presents the young man as his new business partner. All is going well at the conferences, as the investors, having seen Paul's money, are fumbling over each other to enter into Gilbert's deal, when the police arrive, responding to Paul's earlier call. Paul hides the money in an old newspaper, which is mistakenly thrown into the burning fireplace. The financiers, having already seen the money, are unaware of its loss and enter into the deal with Gilbert. With the deal settled, Paul truly becomes Gilbert's partner, and he and Lillian admit to each other that they have fallen in love. As Gilbert gives the happy couple his blessings, the three learn that the burning fortune was actually counterfeit bills.