Its plot revolves around golf-loving American composer George Bevan who falls in love with a mysterious young lady who takes refuge in his taxicab one day.

Lady Maud Marsh, daughter of the widowed 7th Earl of Marshmoreton, is in love with Geoffrey Raymond, whom she met the previous summer in Wales.

Her family, led by Lord Marshmoreton's haughty sister, Lady Caroline Byng, disapprove of the match and will not allow Maud to leave their home of Belpher Castle in Hampshire, in order to keep her from seeing the man.

Lord Marshmoreton meekly listens to his sister, and to Alice, who is insistent that he write the history of his family, though he only wants to tend to his rose garden.

Thanks to a newspaper report about the disagreeable young man (who spent the night in jail after punching a policeman), George discovers that the girl in brown was Lady Maud Marsh of Belpher Castle.

Meanwhile, George's friend and colleague Billie Dore, a chorus girl, visits the castle and bonds with Lord Marshmoreton over their shared love of roses.

Throughout these events, the servants of the castle are holding a sweepstake in which whoever drew the ticket with the name of the man Maud marries will win the money.

Though he has inherited a great deal of money, he is now overweight, talks only of food, and is being sued for breach of promise after a recent flirtation with another girl.

A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen.

[6] The 2019 Indian Bollywood film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga was inspired by the book.