This novel is the tale of a small government office in which about a dozen people work. The manager, Mr Arnold Pigg, is less competent than he himself believes but is able to continue running the office due to the fact that there is a diminishing amount of work and because Bill, the deputy manager, does most or all of the work for him.
George Davies is a young new arrival who joins the office when the work is almost grinding to a halt. He is befriended by Pete, a star of the local rugby team, and is persuaded by him to turn out for a game against the Army team.
Mavis, who also works in the office, is pretty enough but does she really want to be with George? Eventually they begin a romance and Mavis is inspired by the beauty and intellect, as well as the expertise with eye make-up, of Philippa Fry, a young lady barrister who is herself strongly attracted to Jeremy Fallow QC who is a handsome Crown Court judge. She flirts with him unashamedly.
Gradually, as the romance between George and Mavis blossoms, the former realises there is much more to the latter than he first supposed. Throughout the novel, one witnesses the change in Mavis who graduates from a promiscuous young lady into a creative, intelligent and thoughtful woman.