Back in Oxmoon, John Godwin, one of Robert's surviving brothers, begins planning to take over as the heir of Oxmoon as Robert's disease begins to take hold, but more deaths soon take place. Bobby's wife, Margaret, suddenly dies following a party, upsetting the balance of the family and unhinging Bobby, who then takes on a mistress, Milly Straker, who turns out to be a gold digger intent on seizing Oxmoon from the Godwins. As Bobby lapses into senility and falls under Straker's control, John, Robert, and their younger brother Thomas vie with her for control of Oxmoon. Due to Bobby's mismanagement a workers' strike breaks out, forcing Straker out of Oxmoon, leaving the mansion and the lands back in the hands of the Godwins.
