In each episode, Penelope's guardian, Sylvester Sneekly, attempts to claim Penelope's inheritance for himself by attacking her in the disguise of his sinister alter-ego the Hooded Claw. Aided by his twin henchmen the Bully Brothers, who always speak in unison, the Claw creates over-elaborate Rube Goldberg-style plots to do away with Penelope. Even though the Ant Hill Mob often came to Penelope's rescue, she herself often needed to save the Mob from the unintended effects of their attempts to rescue her. But just as quickly as Penelope was delivered from one quandary, she almost immediately found herself ensnared in another one of the Claw's traps. Despite their overall bumbling, however, the Ant Hill Mob always managed to rescue Penelope and foil the Hooded Claw's plans in the end.