"Tom Clausen, a high school principal struggles under pressures from his superintendent. Dr. Charles Wainright, an imposter with fraudulent credentials who charmed and hoodwinked the chair of the school board into representing him as the solution to the district's challenges. Clausen's eccentric neighbor, Garnet Pittman, is taken by Tom's quick mind and, work ethic. Lacking an heir, he secretly probes to see if Tom could replace him as head the Pittman Foundation that funds area scholarships. In declining health, Pittman is besieged by opportunistic lawyers and money men.