Having thrown his father-in-law's money back at him. Joe is now worling for industrialist Harvey Clayton, and is back with Susan. He knows that in big business, a happy home is the price of a good job. But can he pay the price?
Joe is out of work again. But he's not a man to be shelved for long and is soon on the jobs trail. And his approach, as always, is more than somewhat unorthodox.
Joe is pressured to fire a fellow employee at work. Meanwhile, Susan gets close to Mike, a man she works with. After seeing his wife's growing interest in Mike, Joe reaches out to Mike's model girlfriend Paula for company.
With a friend like Joe, who needs enemies? For he is ruthless in conning a young idealist, in ruining a friend's marriage, and in spoiling his own wife's chance of a career.
A lorry on a motorway brings tragedy into Joe Lampton's life, but personal tragedies have no place in big business. Joe realises it's time to get his priorities right.
The long-awaited opportunity arrives: a chance to re-enter the world of big business and get the better of his father-in-law. Joe seizes it with both hands ...
A former girlfriend gets Joe a job with her husband. But faced with a ruthless competitor, Joe soon realises that he has not been employed just for old times' sake.
Invited to Lord Belmont's stately home for a country weekend, Joe gets an appetite for even higher living... and if satisfying the taste means biting the hand that feeds, so be it!
Joe is now aiming to become a politician but finds his personal life is no longer private. Tempted by position and wealth, can he tolerate this intrusion?