True story of an Armenian immigrant who overcomes all odds to become a wealthy and educated man: after his wife's death, he rears his beloved sons in old-world simplicity, only to have them turn on him and call him an ignorant peddler. Hurt, but not discouraged, he begins to educate himself by studying the encyclopedia and ultimately returns to college to earn his degree and the respect of his children. A hardworking, old-world immigrant raises two sons by himself while becoming very succesfull in the junkyard business. His sons attend the best college, but to the father's dismay, they resent and are embarrassed by his crude style and mannerisms. Undaunted, the man sends himself to college and proves to be a brilliant student with an enclyclopedic mind. The family is lovingly reunited when the boys see their father for the kind, loving, generous, happy, well-liked man that he has become.