The House of Drogo Montagu is the family name of the Dukes and Earls of Manchester who served the British monarchy for five centuries. But by 1927, when Alexander, the eldest son of the 9th Duke, married an enterprising young Australian woman named Nell Stead, the family was on its knees financially.

Faced with war and a legacy of excess and indulgence, 'Mandy' and Nell tried to rescue the family's fortunes and revive a dying estate that included Kimbolton Castle, the home of Catherine of Aragon in her final years. This compulsive account of extravagance and eccentricity shows how one house crumbled through four generations.