Ehndale is a powerful and enigmatic figure who is relentlessly engaged in the enterprise of corruption. He solicits the assistance of his beautiful and extremely successful protege Viveka (Vikki) to help him find someone worthy of his efforts to corrupt. Unaware of her mentor's nefarious intentions, Vikki believes she is engaged in an altruistic search for someone who may benefit from the same opportunities she herself had been afforded through her association with Ehndale.

Vikki soon discovers a small-town icon named Thurmond Joseph, an overworked and unappreciated shop foreman at a local foundry, who is unwittingly responsible for much of the success of the town's largest business. After ingratiating herself into the community, Vikki manages to convince Thurmond to consider a life of greater ambition and introduces him to Ehndale. Thurmond is then drawn into a life that could cost him his livelihood, his friends, and potentially his soul.