Harold Wright was a best-selling American writer of fiction, essays, and non-fiction during the first half of the 20th century. He was the first American author to sell a million copies of a novel and the first to earn a million dollars writing fiction. This story by the author of "Shepherd of the Hills," was originally published in 1902. Dick Falkner, who comes from a broken home, sees his father under the influence of alcohol and his mother starving. After his parents' death, young Dick Falkner, a newcomer in Boyd City, lives among the poor until he lands a job and begins work at Udell's print shop. He joins a church, but offends the congregation by promoting ministry among the "lower classes." When a poor man is found dead on the church steps, and a mystery ensues."