Sam Shotter, having failed to please his uncle John B Pynsent in business, is sent to England to work for
Lord Tilbury, who hopes to complete a business deal with Pynsent. To avoid being trapped in Tilbury's company, Sam opts to join his old pal
"Hash" Todhunter, cook on a
tramp steamer, for the trip over. On the way, he shows Hash a photo, found on a wall in a remote Canadian
log cabin, of a woman with whom he has fallen in love without even knowing her name. Arriving in England looking rather bedraggled after his trip, Sam finds Hash has borrowed all his cash to place a bet on a dog. It is the night of the
Wrykyn Old Boys' dinner, and in town he runs into first Claude Bates, who, fearing Sam may be begging, flees, and later
Willoughby Braddock, an old friend. Braddock is staying with
Kay Derrick and her uncle
Mr Wrenn while his house is decorated, and takes Sam back there, but wanders drunkenly off when they arrive; Sam is mistaken for a burglar by
Claire Lippett, the maid, and ends up sleeping in the empty house next door. During the night, Sam is disturbed by someone in the hallway with a torch. Next morning, the confusion having been sorted out, Lippett gives Sam breakfast. He sees a picture of Kay, the girl of his dreams, and finds her uncle also works for the
Mammoth Publishing Company, as editor of ''Pyke's Home Companion''. He visits Mr Cornelius, the local estate agent, and takes a lease on the empty house, "Mon Repos". He then sees Lord Tilbury, and gets himself employed on Mr Wrenn's paper. Kay, having just quit her job with Claude Bates' aunt after he kissed her, is visiting her uncle's office when Sam arrives. Sam, overcome at having finally met her, kisses her also, upsetting her further. Lord Tilbury, worried by Sam's odd behaviour, including his sudden rental of Mon Repos, is advised by his sister
Francie that there may be a romantic motivation in the form of a woman next door; but Tilbury is reassured to hear that Mr Wrenn has no children. Sam hires Hash Toddhunter to be his cook, while
"Chimp" Twist,
"Soapy" and
"Dolly" Molloy discuss the problem of recovering a large fortune stashed in Sam's new home by an old friend, Edward Finglass, famed for robbing the
New Asiatic Bank of two million dollars in bonds. They send in Molloy, posing as a former resident of the house wishing to buy it. The scheme fails, as Sam needs to stay near Kay, and makes Hash suspicious; he buys a large dog named Amy to protect the place. Sam's wooing of Kay begins to bear fruit, and he takes her out to lunch one day, where Lord Tilbury sees them. Having rejected
Percy Pilbeam as a helper, he visits Chimp Twist's fake detective agency, and hires Twist to spy on Sam; he forces Sam to hire Twist as an odd job man, but Sam makes Twist remove his repulsive
moustache. Hash and Claire become involved, but she is worried by his coolness (he is worried by her mother's nose). Following advice in the "Home Companion", she tries to make him jealous by flirting with Twist, whom Hash chases off in a fury. The Molloys return to "Mon Repos" once more, tie up Hash and begin to search for the money, but Dolly is frightened off by Amy the dog, and Soapy, tired after fending off visitors, is caught napping by Sam, who takes away his trousers. Sam leaves him trapped while he releases Hash and takes him next door to be reunited with Claire. Heading back to his house, Sam meets Braddock, who informs him that Lord Tilbury is in there without his trousers. Sam provides him with some, but the deal between Tilbury and Sam's uncle has fallen through, and Tilbury reveals his dislike of Sam and his opinion that Sam will never be anything better than a moocher. He and Sam part angrily. Braddock spots Twist sneaking back into the house. He follows him and captures him in the act of pulling up some floorboards. Sam, convinced by Twist's testimony that the money isn't in its supposed hiding place, lets Twist go. Sam and Kay, abandoning their hopes of a small fortune in reward money, discuss a loving but poor future. But when they hear from local historical expert Mr Cornelius that the two houses were once one, they realise that the money must be stashed in Kay's house. ==Characters==