In the second play of the trilogy, the billionaire's son has chosen a life of rebellion against injustice and exploitation. He now becomes a social revolutionary dedicated to a realization of the "new man." He offers his workers the opportunity of a humane life; but the reforms he proposes and the prospect of an equal share in profits lead only to an intensification of greed among the workers and to their total dependence on the machines, and the production of a highly lucrative but dangerous gas.