Atlas Shrugged

Dagny notices that men of intelligence and integrity continue to quit their jobs and disappear, and she begins to suspect that this is the result of a deliberate scheme by some nefarious “destroyer.” She meets with Daniels, who is working as security in an abandoned university so that he can use the labs for his own experiments, and he agrees to work on the motor.

Jim Taggart and Cheryl Brooks are getting married despite the difference in their social status. Lilian Rearden pressures her husband into attending their wedding in order to boost Jim’s social status because she sees them as allies in attempting to control Dagny and Rearden. Lilian tries to force Dagny into returning the RM bracelet to her, but Dagny refuses, and Rearden then forces Lilian to apologize. Rearden himself apologizes to Dagny, but she is unaffected by the confrontation.

Francisco d’Anconia argues with another guest who calls money the root of evil, and he pontificates on the importance of money as a tool and measure of virtue. He and Rearden converse, and Francisco warns Rearden never to do business with d’Anconia copper. Rearden feels conflicted about how much he likes Francisco. Francisco tells Jim that he’s aware of the way Jim manipulated the market to raise the value of his stocks in d’Anconia copper and then deliberately starts a rumor that tanks the value of his company’s stocks.

Rearden admits to Dagny how much he likes Francisco, and Dagny warns him that falling for Francisco will only see him hurt. Lilian has figured out that Rearden is cheating on her, although not with whom, and she confronts him so that he is aware of her disdain. Ferris attempts to blackmail Rearden with the fact that Ken Danagger has been selling him coal at cost price, which is illegal under the new laws. Rearden remains firm in his refusal to fulfill the SSI’s order of RM and is therefore indicted alongside Danagger.

Eddie Willers, speaking to John Galt, discusses the news of Danagger and Rearden’s upcoming trial. Dagny predicts that Rearden will be fine but that Danagger is in danger of quitting and disappearing at the hand of the “destroyer,” which makes Galt laugh. Dagny attempts to warn Danagger but arrives too late as he has already been persuaded to quit. He is kind to Dagny and asks her to tell Rearden that he loves him.

That night, Danagger abandons his business and disappears. Francisco visits the melancholy Rearden in his office and consoles him over the loss of Danagger. Francisco begins talking Rearden through Galt’s reasoning behind the strike, and although Rearden seems receptive, they are interrupted by an explosion in the furnaces. They work together in an exhilarating flurry of physical labor and manage to save the furnaces. Afterward, Rearden tends to Francisco’s minor injuries and offers to employ him as a furnace foreman. Francisco demurs, and they part amicably.

During Thanksgiving dinner, Rearden’s family attempts to criticize and manage him as they usually do, and Philip castigates Rearden for his beliefs and attitudes toward money. Rearden does not submit to the manipulation and puts Philip in his place, acknowledging aloud for the first time that Philip is reliant on his charity and threatening to cast Philip out of the house should he show anything less than submissive gratitude again. The family are cowed, and Rearden leaves to spend the evening with Dagny.

Rearden attends his trial and speaks at length about the value of money and the importance of property rights, echoing Francisco’s words. He refuses to validate the looters’ accusations and methods by defending himself, and, as he predicted, he is let off essentially unpunished. Buoyant with victory, he visits Francisco, and they discuss the topic of sexuality. Rearden admits his affection for Francsico, and, to Francisco’s horror, Rearden says that he’s ordered a large shipment of copper through d’Anconia copper.

Rearden is later betrayed and furious to learn that the ships carrying his order of copper were sank by the pirate Ragnar Danneskjold.

As a result of the loss of the copper shipments, Rearden is unable to fulfill the TT order of RM. This is the first ever failure of his company but just part of a nationwide epidemic of failures and catastrophes in the industrial supply chain. In a cascading chain reaction, businesses all across the country are failing to receive their orders of supplies and parts, going bankrupt, and shutting their doors, thereby depriving their own customers of necessary orders in turn.

TT is facing financial ruin as Jim’s Washington contacts pressure him into lowering the cost of shipping and raising the payment rates for workers. The Board of Directors ultimately decides to close the now unprofitable John Galt line to Colorado and cannibalize the track to use the RM rails in the rest of the system. Dagny leaves the meeting willing to comply with the decision but refusing to condone it by taking responsibility. Francisco visits Dagny and takes her out for a drink. He says that he’ll revel in her failure and mock her for it tomorrow once she has recovered enough to continue working, but tonight he is there to console her. He speaks of his enduring affection for her and hints that he believes she will come to agree with his perspective and actions, even if she’s not yet ready to give up the fight. He tells her that John Galt is actually Prometheus, but a Prometheus who changed his mind and rescinded his gift of fire until the vultures stopped attacking him.

Lilian discovers that it is Dagny with whom her husband is having an affair and confronts him. She is incensed and says that Dagny is the one woman in the world with whom she will not allow Rearden to have an affair. She tells him to stop sleeping with Dagny, and Rearden refuses, feeling a sense of freedom from defying her.