Diamond Jim Brady Edward Arnold is born to an Irish saloonkeeper and his wife in 1856, but is soon orphaned. At the age of thirty, while working as a baggage master at the Spuyten Duyvil train station, he rents a suit and a diamond from a pawn shop and lands a job as a salesman; soon, he becomes the top salesman on the staff.
On a cross-continental sales trip, Brady rescues Mr. Fox Eric Blore from a crooked salesman, and in the process they are forced to jump from the train. Brady soon discovers that Mr. Fox is trying to hawk an invention called an undertruck to be used at railroad stations, so he takes on the venture himself. His early success — and the daring risks he takes — propel him toward a life in which he longs to marry his sweetheart, Jane Matthews / Emma Perry Jean Arthur, only to learn that she is engaged to someone else. Heartbroken, he channels his energy into expanding the Brady-Fox Company and forging ahead.
As the business thrives, Brady’s life becomes a spectacle of wealth: lavish diamonds, extravagant dinners, and a flamboyant lifestyle that earns him the nickname Diamond Jim Brady. He spares no expense to indulge his every whim, showering praise and resources on the arts and on people who help his name shine. He even meets and supports Lillian Russell Binnie Barnes when she performs, and he helps promote her career, all while she becomes entangled with a banker named Jerry Richardson Cesar Romero.
Brady’s romance with Jane/Emma remains a constant tension, and the couple’s engagement is threatened when, on the eve of the wedding, he becomes intoxicated by suspicions about Jane’s relationship with the banker Briggs, who is said to be her uncle. The ceremony is called off, and Jane remains a friend, though she has fallen for Jerry; Brady, for his part, is left to confront the complexities of love and loyalty.
When the stock market crashes, Brady loses his fortune and must start again from scratch, this time promoting a steel railroad car thought to be safer in transit. A public demonstration injures him, and he spends a year recovering in the hospital, during which he rebuilds both his wealth and his reputation.
Emerging from recovery, he plans a grand European trip with Jane, Lillian, and Jerry, hoping to win Jane back. Instead, Jane and Jerry confess their love for each other, shattering Brady’s hopes. On the rebound, he proposes to Lillian, but she rejects him as well. The story closes with Brady facing a stark, personal choice: press on with the climb or retreat, ultimately burning the IOUs that symbolize his debts and beginning anew.
