Since the death of their mother, the Bastable children's father has been struggling to make ends meet and meet the financial demands of six growing kids and an expensive home to run. The house has been getting progressively shabbier and the children are on hiatus from their private schools as the fees have become impossible to afford. The children decide that it is up to them to restore the family's fortunes and hold a council of war to come up with a viable plan. The plans do not seem particularly viable but they agree to try them out one by one starting with digging for treasure. This is fun but only nets a couple of sovereigns. Then they decide to be detectives, thinking they have found intruders in the big house next door but discovering that the intruders are actually the home-owners who are skulking in the house hoping that the neighbors will not find out they have not been able to afford to take their annual vacation.
Noel believes the answer is selling his poetry and a fortuitous meeting with a famous female poet opens the door for him at the office of the Daily Recorder where the editor buys a number of his poems and they manage to sell some snippets of tittle-tattle about Lord Tottenham. The money keeps them afloat but the household budget is still woefully inadequate so their next plan is to become bandits, which they attempt whilst Dora is visiting with her Godmother in case she stops them doing it. They decide to kidnap Albert-Next-Door who is a terrible whiny prisoner and who is ransomed for a couple of shillings paid by his uncle. Albert's uncle suggests they produce a newspaper but they give so many away to their friends that they make no money at all. It seems time to try Dicky's idea of investing in one of the moneymaking schemes advertised in the evening 'paper. They decide to invest in what is a pyramid selling scheme and receive a sample bottle of Castillian sherry to use as a taster to encourage people to order multiple bottles on which they earn a commission. The sherry is bitter so they sweeten it to their own palate which makes it in drinkable to adults. Suffice to say they don't sell a bottle and their father warns them against starting a business without his involvement.
Alice declares that it is time to try the divining rod which enables her to dress up like a high priestess. She finds a little money and claims her divining a success. Despite this the fortunes of the House of Bastable are still precarious. However the kids know they are still far more fortunate than many people and so throw themselves into helping get ready for dinner with their poor Indian uncle. They want to share their minimal riches with him but feel sorry that the meal their housekeeper Eliza prepares is not very nice at all, partly because she is not a very good cook and partly because the ingredients are only as good as their father can currently afford - which is not very good at all.
Having spent the money divined by Alice on some rather appetizing food they decide to ask their poor Indian uncle to eat with them; they turn the meal into a play dinner, pretending f that they are adventurers hunting their own food, and their uncle joins in with alacrity and enthusiasm. He declares it is the best meal he has eaten. Their Indian uncle turns out to be their real-life treasure as he asks the Bastable family to share his enormous opulent London home with him; the children return to their schools and their uncle and father join forces to build a business that thrives. At last, the fortunes of the House of Bastable are restored.
