Upon the death of this father, Ed Hartlepool discovers he has inherited the ancestral seat, a huge mountain of debts, an 80-year-old butler, and a vast country estate that is creaking at the seams. There is also a strange woman in residence at Hartlepool Hall who turns out to be Lady Alice, his father's first mistress and she tells him more about his father than he ever discovered during his life. But with the debts mounting can Ed save his inheritance without having to sell his home? And is Lady Alice really the person she claims to be?

Ed Hartlepool hat fünf Jahre im selbst auferlegten Exil gelebt, doch als sein Erbe durch Steuerschulden in Gefahr ist, kehrt er zurück nach Hartlepool Hall, dem Landsitz seiner Vorfahren. Und was er dort vorfindet sind: ein
Pds. 7.000.000 Steuerbescheid, zwei massive Kontoüberziehungen, ein 80-jähriger Butler und Lady Alice, eine Dame, die sich aufführt als wäre sie auf Hartlepool Hall zu Hause und nach eigenen Angaben die erste Geliebte seines Vaters ist. Mit diesen Berg an Altlasten scheint die Umwandlung des Hauses in Luxus Appartments unabwendbar.Ed Hartlepool has been living in self-imposed exile for five years, but with a settlement regarding his inheritance looming, he must return to his ancestral seat, Hartlepool Hall. On his return, he discovers that his father has left him, along with the house, a seven million pound tax bill, two massive overdrafts, an 80-year-old butler, and a vast country estate that is creaking at the seams. Not only that, but there is a strange woman in residence at Hartlepool Hall who seems to have made herself very much at home.
It turns out that 'Lady Alice' was his father's first mistress and she tells him more about his father than he ever discovered during his life. With the debts mounting, it seems that Ed's only recourse is to turn to his friend Annabel's new boyfriend, a property developer who plans to turn Hartlepool Hall into luxury flats and a golf course. But can Ed save his inheritance without such a drastic move and thereby preserve a way of life that has been in his family for generations? And is Lady Alice really the person she claims to be?