The story centres on the Godolphin family, who run a bank in a small town. After the death of Sir Thomas Godolphin, his two sons Thomas and George take over the business. Whereas Thomas, the elder, is a serious, pious and honest gentleman through and through, whose private life was blighted through the premature death of his fiancee, George, also known as "ready George", is a free and easy dapper man about town, whose irresponsible gambling debts lead him into defalcation and the manipulation of the bank’s books. When it finally becomes known that George has misappropriated some bonds, this scandal starts a run on the bank, eventually resulting in the Godolphin’s bankruptcy and the ruin of many small depositors. (Goodreads)