Relatives of Josiah Crowley are concerned that the selfish "nouveau riche" social-climbing heirs presumptive, the snobbish Tophams, have taken him into their home and do not let him visit other family members, including the Turner and Hoover sisters. When Crowley dies, promises of being included in his will appear moot as the will, held by the Tophams, wills everything to them. Eighteen-year-old Nancy Drew is prompted to help the Crowley kin by her affection for Crowley's distant niece, little Judy, who is being raised by the elderly Turner sisters.