The charlady who looks after a young author, Gerald Ormerod, is indisposed. Mrs Ogboddy deputizes. Gerald is in love with his secretary, and his latest novel is being so constructed that he can dictate a scene which will be the stepping-stone to his proposal. Unfortunately Mrs Ogboddy, with the idea of protecting a defenceless girl, conducts a series of annoying interruptions. At last Gerald, by forcing a basket over Mrs Ogboddy's head, gains an opportunity, proposes, and is accepted.