Big Money

Frequently, I hear that phrase being used with the TV show Wheel of Fortune. I wonder if it originated with this book.
Lord Biskerton (Biscuit), Berry Conway, Ann Moon, Torquil Frisby, Lady Vera, Katherine (Kitchie) Valentine, Lord Hoddesdon, J.B.Holk, Captain Kelly and Mrs.Wisdom make up the comical cast of this novel.
Berry is Frisby's secretary. He was a rich man, with a stupid aunt, who bungled all the money and now he is forced to work with this man, to repay his debts. He owns a useless mine - Dream Come True and lives with a caretaker, Mrs.Wisdom, whom he addresses as the Old Retainer. Berry and Biscuit are friends since school.
Biscuit is only royal in his title. Him and his uncle, Lord Hoddesdon, are horrible at managing their finances. They are neck deep in debt and are constantly on the lookout for free money. Biscuit's aunt and Lord Hoddesdon's sister, Aunt Vera, is the only living relative who manages her finances and makes sure she doesn't lend too much to them.
Frisby is Ann's uncle. He is really stingy and owns Horned Toad Mine. He is given the responsibility of taking care of Ann, when she comes to England. He has connections with J.B.Holk, who again is known to Captain Kelly.
When Ann is travelling to England, she meets Kitchie on the boat and they become dear friends, with whom she loses touch, when she lives in England.
The story begins with a phone interaction between Frisby and Ann's mother, to inform Frisby about Ann arrival to England and to take care of her. Frisby is annoyed and calls in his secretary, Berry, to put an ad in the papers.
Following the ad, Lady Vera, walks in to take the post. Frisby is quite smitten by her and appoints her to be the guide for Ann.
Biscuit and Berry meet and exchange their woes and lives with each other and promise to stay in touch.
As Ann arrives, there is frequent meeting between her and Biscuit, which leads to their engagement. With this announcement, Biscuit finds the need to go undercover as the loansharks might hunt him down. Ann begins to have second thoughts. As Biscuit is trying his new undercover, Ann sees an attractively romantic looking young man at the restaurant, none other than Berry. It's love at first sight for both.
As Biscuit leaves the restaurant, Ann does too and in a bid to find out more about her, Berry hops in her car and lies to her about his profession. But Ann's conscience wins and she leaves him, while he is thinking that she is waiting.
Berry finds out about Biscuit's undercover and advises him to live in his neighbourhood instead, as it is a relatively poor locality, where Biscuit would not be suspected to be living. When Biscuit arrives in the neighbourhood, he falls for his neighbour Kitchie, who at that time, is engaged to Merwyn Flock in America.
Meanwhile, Frisby hears about Berry mine and he has other plans. He sets up J.B.Holk to buy the mine from Berry and pretends as though he is a disinterested middle man. Berry is more than happy to get some cash in exchange for a mine, that never gave any copper. He then discharges his debts with the money.
Fate throws Berry with Ann again for a second and a third time. And by the third, they have shared their feelings to each other and now they are engaged. Even though Berry finds out that Ann is actually Biscuit's fiancee, he goes ahead with the engagement and tells Biscuit later that evening, only to find out that Biscuit was also doubly engaged to Kitchie (who had broken off hers with Merwyn Flock).
Since Ann was a rich man's daughter, Lord Hoddesdon wants Biscuit to keep holding onto her, as does Lady Vera and she is very mad that Biscuit would be hidden at this point in time. She also notices Ann acting weird and finds out that she has been seeing another guy. As she visits Frisby to tell him about Ann's behaviour, she sees Berry, just as he is leaving his office, quitting.
Frisby has just been visited by J.B.Holk, who tricked him and bought Berry's mine all for himself. But after seeing Vera, he calms down and now they are engaged.
Vera tells Ann the truth about Berry and she is disappointed and breaks off her engagement with Berry. Berry is heartbroken and spends the rest of the day at his house.
Frisby is meanwhile, debating with J.B.Holk and his lawyer about the mine. Holk, then sees Captain Kelly, who threatens Holk into sharing the money with him.
Berry tries to find a new way to make money, with Biscuit's advise, but gets him trouble as now both Kelly and Holk are thinking of assaulting him. Frisby, with his lawyer, try to buy Berry, but mistake Biscuit for Berry and give him the money.
Ann tries to repatch her engagement with Biscuit, but he refuses as he is now engaged to Kitchie. He tries to reason with her and convince her to resume her engagement with Berry.
Next door, Holk and Kelly are holding Berry captive with Lord Hoddesdon. In the final scene, Berry shows heroism and Ann melts at the sight, and their engagement resumes. All ends happily.
I think I was feeling like a scatterbrain as I was reading this book and so it felt like the story itself seemed incoherent, but that was entirely a mood based opinion, for even with that incoherence, I did get the above summary of the story. A funny book.