In the depths of the Depression in a swanky New York hotel, a party is in full swing and one of the party games is a scavenger hunt! Among the many objects being sought by the elite of New York City is a “forgotten man”. While on the search, ditzy socialite Irene Bullock finds one, Godfrey and plucks him from his packing-crate home along the East River and ends up hiring him as a butler for her and her wacky family. Godfrey is grateful to Irene for giving him a job and a future, but he quickly finds that this family and especially Irene need him to help them far more than his talents as a butler. Eventually, all find out how easily money can be lost and status can change but that some things transcend all that.