A young and somewhat eccentric American named Sam Shotter is sent by his uncle, a wealthy businessman, to England to get him out of his hair. Sam's uncle sends him to work for Lord Tilbury's well known Mammoth Publishing Company, much against Lord Tilbury's better judgment. Sam accidentally comes to reside in Valley Fields, that peaceful suburb of milk and honey, where many complications of romantic, business, social and criminal natures ensue. This book also marks the first appearance of Chimp Twist, "a man so crooked he could hide behind a spiral staircase", and his associates and rivals in misdoing, Dolly and Soapy Molloy. This book was published in England under the title Sam The Sudden.