Pre-October 1929, New York. A bunch of American millionaires amuse themselves making a secret tontine: $50,000 each into a kitty that will provide about a million dollars for whichever is the last of their sons to get married. Summer 1955, Valley Fields, London SE. Keggs, once butler to, among others, the multiest of those millionaires, is now living in one of the houses he owns in Mulberry Grove with, as lodgers, Lord Uffenham, another of his previous employers, and Lord Uffenham's niece, pretty Jane Benedick (? sister of Anne in Money in the Bank). Jane's dowry, is, Lord Uffenham hopes, to come from the profitable sale of his pictures at his ancestral Shipley Hall. The hall is now rented to Roscoe, unpleasant, grossly rich son of the above (late) multiest. Jane is, at first, engaged to a sculptor with marcelled hair. Anyone who has read more than half a dozen Wodehouse novels knows that the engagement of a pretty girl called Jane to a chap with marcelled hair called Stanhope Twine, and who addresses her uncle as 'Ah, Uffenham', will soon be broken up by a fresh young buzzer called Sam, Jeff or, in this case, Bill (Hollister). It proves that grossly rich Roscoe and rather poor Bill are the only survivors in the race for the tontine loot.

Roscoe had bullied Jane as a girl. He is very mean. He is afraid of dogs and prepared to feed drugged meat to a harmless bulldog. He had been sacked from school for usury. Remember Battling Billson? Remember the barmaid Flossie whom he married? Well, Flossie is Keggs's sister. And the Billson daughter, Emma, is the beautiful actress 'Elaine Dawn'. And Roscoe had proposed marriage to 'Elaine Dawn', with letters to prove it. It is the work of a moment for hired sleuth Percy Pilbeam (that two-timing rat again!) to steal them back for Roscoe. But Emma Billson's parents have a word with welshing Roscoe and an immediate wedding has been arranged. Two, in fact. Emma gets rich Roscoe. Nouveau riche Bill gets Jane.

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