The Cat's-Paw

Being the son of Christian missionaries, Ezekial Cobb has lived in a small isolated town in China for twenty years, since he was an adolescent. Because of this sheltered life, Ezekial, who follows the teaching of Chinese poet and philosopher Ling Po, is a naive and overly trusting man. His parents send him back to his birthplace of Stockport, California so that he can find a wife, and for the two of them to return to China to continue the mission. In the big city of Stockport, Ezekial being unwise to the ways of the world gets him into one misadventure after another. Jake Mayo equates Ezekial's simplicity with being a pushover, just the type of person he needs to run as mayor on behalf of the Good Government League - the reform ticket - which is solely a front for the corrupt political machine in power who want to make it look like the election is being run in a true democratic fashion. Although Ezekial accepts the nomination on the premise he will lose as his primary goal is to find that wife and return to China, Ezekial, a man with integrity, may have different goals once he learns how corrupt politics in Stockport truly is. But Ezekial making changes to Stockport politics may be easier said than done, especially against those who the League fronts. Through it all, Ezekial gets the help of streetwise Pet Pratt, a fellow boarder at the rooming house where Ezekial is staying.