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THE PLAZA PRINCE is set in a small town. The plot revolves around the salespeople in Vogels department store. The store is one of many in a family-owned chain of Vogels department stores that serve as major anchor stores in American shopping malls. The Vogels chain and the American mall are threatened with extinction and the Vogel employees are increasingly aware of the insidious impact of big box stores and online shopping on small town life.
Inflation, medical costs, low wages, and few perks cause Vogel employees to seek union affiliation. Employees in various departments share floor space and a mutual disdain for the store manager, Curtis Jenson. They share one common desire, to oust Jenson, and some people will go to extraordinary lengths to see him gone.
The owner of the store, Jonathon Vogel, is the fourth-generation owner of the franchise, which opened in the nineteenth century as his great grandfather’s butcher shop and café, a forerunner of Vogels Department Store and Plaza Grill. A pillar in the community and the state, Vogel is in line to serve as a United States Senator. His lifelong friend, Bert Thompson, is a political kingmaker, venture capitalist and savvy entrepreneur with connections to the dark underbelly of America. That connection will come into play if necessary.
Curtis Jenson is Vogel’s son-in-law and husband of Suzanne Vogel Jenson, heir to the retail empire. Jenson’s personal life and conflicts with Vogel threaten family stability and the Vogel good name.
Other main characters include cosmetic sales reps, Donna and Annette, who are at war with one another. Ken, the head of menswear and Adam Shafer seek solutions to employee issues, and Barbara Wilke provides leadership when Jenson fails. Countless other characters add to a full and rich who-done-it drama.
And then there’s Walter Johnson and his loveable old dog, a golden retriever named Mr. Snagglepuss. Walter’s story is a tale within a tale.