Johnny Payne, named after "Cash" as his mother Dottie was a musician, is a commitment-phobic mechanic in working class East Philadelphia. While he knows nothing about his father/Dottie's ex-husband as he has never let her talk about him, because he abandoned them before Johnny was born, Johnny does learn that his father is at least still alive when he is approached by Prudence Thorp, said father's adviser. While Dottie knew him as Billy, he is formally William, the Duke of Glasswick, who is in physical ill-health, and is looking to pass off his royal duties to the next in line, namely Johnny. While "jeans and t-shirt"-Johnny wants nothing to do with the title, money or his father, he at least does take Prudence up on the offer of the first-class plane ticket to meet the Duke, encouraged by his mother Dottie, if only to confront him. While meeting him does not change Johnny's mind, Johnny is convinced by Prudence to at least stay until the annual Glasswick Ball. Obviously her mission is to get him to change his mind. He eventually sees first hand the reason for her insistence when he meets the next in line after him, snobbish Allistair Covington-Breed, Johnny's second cousin twice removed who Prudence and William do not trust to do what is good for Glasswick, and who Prudence considers purely a "title chaser". Johnny may have a change of heart in the combination of doing what Allistair doesn't want, getting a real chance to know his father and his parents' story from both sides, and falling for Prudence, while Allistair does whatever he can to see that Johnny never gets a chance to be a succeed his father.
—Huggo