It's 1921and the Honorable Percy Chadwick, fleeing London in his jaunty yellow roadster to avoid creditors, specifically his bookmaker, wine merchant, and the Ritz's dining room, seeks sanctuary at his mother's ancestral home, Gothic Abbey, presided over by his benign and overly generous uncle, the Earl of Eventide. But the serenity he seeks is marred by "murder most foul," and it falls to Percy, whose own life is threatened, to aid the detective inspector in solving the case. Percy tackles the challenges with his accustomed sangfroid and light-hearted humor, buoyed by an inordinate pride that his family bravely came back over with Charles II. He is aided by Livvy Loveswright, a beautiful young gothic mystery writer who is visiting the Abbey to research her next novel. The two, through much witty banter mingled with romantic yearning, assemble the pieces of the puzzle that portrays the identity of the culprit, bringing the story to a happily ever after ending.