"The Cliff-Dwellers" is a novel set among the skyscrapers and frenetic business culture of 1890s Chicago. It follows the life of George Ogden, a promising young man from Boston, who moves "out west" to make his fortune. He finds a job in a bank headquartered at the Clifton Building, the newest skyscraper in the city, where he soon realizes that its eighteen floors are already full with men and women who came there to achieve the same goal, often by any means. The book represents a vivid and realistic portrayal of capitalism and social climbers in Chicago, with the strong emphasis on the city itself, which is presented as a force that breaks down anyone who isn't ready to play by its merciless rules.