The prodigal apprentice

Tom Worboise, the prodigal apprentice, is indecisive, frivolous, and ambitious for the "good life." He works as clerk to Mr. Boxall, a wealthy businessman in London's Guild Court, On his own time, Tom alternates between two girls who love him, Lucy Burton and Mary Boxall.

Tom's father, a shrewd lawyer, amens a will for the Boxall family, who soon afterward are all lost in a shipwreck. Tom's father had been named beneficiary in such an eventuality, and now ruthlessly goes after the money.

Tom is influenced by his crafty father and enters a series of misadventures that involve gambling and theft. Finally he comes to himself and returns to London where he finds love and a more noble way of life.