Summary
Sir Michael Fairlie is a man of leisure who finds himself struck by lightning—metaphorically—when he encounters Ann Kent during a torrential London rainstorm. Ann, a social secretary for the affluent Bytheway family, has no time for flirtatious aristocrats, prompting Michael to take a drastic, deceptive route to win her favor. After bribing an incoming domestic employee named Simmons to take his place, Michael infiltrates the Bytheway household as their new servant. The farce complicates when Steve, a high-stakes international thief, breaks into Michael’s actual flat and later adopts Michael’s identity to attend a party at the Bytheway estate. What follows is a dizzying game of social musical chairs: a real baronet playing a servant, a criminal playing a baronet, and the arrival of a blonde blackmailer named Rose who claims to be the 'servant' Michael’s wife. In a climax involving stolen jewels and shattered pretenses, Michael must prove his worth not through his title, but through his actions.
Synopsis
Sir Michael Fairlie meets Ann Kent, a social secretary to the Bytheways, during a rainstorm in London, and though she snubs him, he promptly falls in love. He intercepts Simmons, an employee of the family, and, buying off his job, he introduces himself as Simmons at the Bytheway residence. Steve, an international crook, breaks into Sir Michael's flat, but he manages to evade the police by means of disguise; later, he accepts an invitation sent to Sir Michael by the Bytheways and is introduced to the real Sir Michael, whom he assumes to be another crook. Rose, a blonde blackmailer, is introduced as the wife of Simmons, and, following a series of mix-ups and complications, Sir Michael reveals his identity and saves the family jewels, thus winning the love of Ann.
