The Vanishing Shadow plot
Stanley Stanfield is the inventor of the 'Vanishing Ray'. This is a portable device that, when turned on, only reveals the user's shadow. A prototype of this device is being built after a meeting with Stanley's colleague, the eccentric scientist Carl Van Dorn. Stanley plans to sell bonds to fund his invention. Stanley inherited these bonds from his late father, the publisher of the Tribune newspaper. However, the stockbroker, whom Stanley has met, turns out to be corrupt. This stockbroker also does business with Ward Barnett. The businessman Barnett was involved in the death of Stanley's father. Barnett wants to own the bonds at all costs. Stanley learns that his girlfriend Gloria Grant is actually Gloria Barnett, the daughter of his enemy Ward Barnett.