It is ten days after the events of Summer Lightning. Ronnie Fish is engaged to chorus girl Sue Brown, and his mother, Lady Julia, is determined to prevent the marriage. Sue was once briefly engaged to Monty Bodkin. When she hears that Monty is to come to the castle as Lord Emsworth's secretary she is very worried that dear Ronnie will get to know and squirm with jealousy. She rushes up to London to tell Monty they must meet as strangers, and Ronnie's mother sees them lunching at the Berkeley before all three take the train to Market Blandings.

Gally has undertaken not to publish his Reminiscences. But Lord Tilbury had a contract with him and is determined to publish them if he can get at them by hook (Monty) or crook (Pilbeam). Sir Gregory Parsloe is worried silly that Gally's book will tell about his scandalous younger days, and he wants to be the Unionist candidate for the local election to Parliament. Ronnie's mother is considerably jolted to learn that Gally will tell about her late husband's scandalous younger days. Lord Tilbury comes down to reason with Gally and, a pig-enthusiast himself, he covets the Empress.

The book becomes a fast and complicated doubles game - Hunt the Reminiscences and Steal the Pig - with Beach the butler involved much more than he likes on both counts. Pilbeam gets drunk and makes an ass of himself. Lord Tilbury is rolled in the Empress's sty. Gally's manuscript adds healthy paper-weight to the omnivorous pig. Ronnie and his Sue drive off into the night with a big cheque from Lord Emsworth for honeymoon expenses, and they will be married in the morning. It is Gally's finest hour. Sue is the heroine. The villain is Pilbeam. The enemy is mothers and aunts. It is a very good book.

N.B. Lord Emsworth and Gally still think it was Baxter, working for Sir Gregory, who stole the Empress in Summer Lightning.

Source: Richard Usborne. Plum Sauce. A P G Wodehouse Companion.